The score looks a little ugly by the standards we’re used to for Georgia.

The Bulldogs topped UAB 49-21 on Saturday in Athens, the latter number being the one that will likely give people some pause.

And while that 21 is a little ugly and the 1st half — again — started out a little slow for Georgia, it was the biggest sign of life the Bulldogs have shown this year, and it should give followers of the team more confidence in the chance of a 3-peat.

Why?

Carson Beck and Brock Bowers. Beck had his best game as a Bulldog, and Bowers added his 8th 100-yard game. This connection is what will determine the fortunes of Georgia’s season.

There was still plenty of bad in this game for the Bulldogs, but for the 1st time this year, it looked like they knew who they were. Now it’s just a matter of cleaning up some mistakes.

Player of the Week: TE Brock Bowers

For the first 3 weeks of the season, Bowers had a moderate impact on the Georgia offense. By his standards, at least. One of the best players in the country, he’d recorded just 135 receiving yards and hadn’t caught a touchdown pass.

Against UAB, the Bulldogs may have found their offensive identity: Get the ball to Bowers.

Bowers had 9 catches for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He’s done those kinds of numbers before, but this was particularly big for a team searching for an identity under a new quarterback.

Bowers made Beck better. The more they trust that connection, the better this Georgia offense is going to be.

Worth noting: Beck, not the player of the week, but still a strong performance — 22-of-32 for 337 yards and 3 touchdown passes to go with 1 rushing touchdown.

Freshman of the Week: DB Joenel Aguero

The Georgia secondary is a strength. Aguero helped demonstrate its depth.

On a team where freshmen are not really putting up huge numbers (or getting a lot of playing time), the newcomer tallied 4 tackles, including 1 for loss. It’s a good sign for the Bulldogs’ secondary, which is already theoretically one of the best in the country.

The more comfortable Aguero gets, the more the Bulldogs can protect the rest of the starting cast, and the more they can unleash havoc on opposing quarterbacks up front.

Biggest surprise: No change at kicker

Not much surpising from this game, but I will say that after all the talk about the kicker position, it was a little surprising for it to be much ado about nothing.

Peyton Woodring missed 2 very makeable field goals against South Carolina last week, and he and Jared Zirkel, supposedly, competed for the job throughout this week.

Woodring seems to have convinced coaches to stick with him in practice, and he rewarded them with 7 made extra points. Now, he didn’t attempt a field goal, and we’ll reserve judgment until he does.

Biggest concern: Ladd McConkey’s health

This has nothing to do with what happened on the field against UAB. It’s just simply the biggest concern for Georgia at this point.

The Bulldogs’ offense is good. Beck is settling in. The unit was able to open it up a bit more and find more downfield success. McConkey would take it to another level.

At this point, the verbiage describing his injury has to raise eyebrows for everyone. The question is not when but if he will be healthy.

Each week that passes makes the Georgia faithful slightly more concerned about whether he’ll return at some point this year.

Developing trend: Special teams miscues

Mekhi Mews fumbled a punt return. Dillon Bell fumbled a kickoff return. Woodring was 7-of-7 kicking extra points, but his 2 missed field goals last week still reside in the back of everyone’s mind.

With all due respect to this football team, it does not appear to be good enough to steamroll all of its opponents. At some point, a special teams miscue is going to cost it. I have no doubt Kirby Smart is emphasizing this point.

Key stat: Tykee Smith snags an interception for the 3rd straight game

Smith was a hot transfer for Georgia in 2021. The expectations were high. And then there were injuries. Lost playing time. Regressions, perhaps. The thought was that he simply would not pan out for the Bulldogs’ secondary.

And now, in his 3rd year with the Bulldogs, his work is finally coming to fruition. He just grabbed an interception for the 3rd straight game against UAB, giving him 3 in 4 games this season.

With Smith becoming a ball hawk, the return of Javon Bullard could take the Georgia secondary to another level.

First impression about Week 5: Georgia should be heavily favored over Auburn. But it’s time to prove it.

Look, there’s no question who should win this game.

Georgia is more talented across the board. It has better coaches. It has more depth. There is no reason that an Auburn team that lost to Texas A&M this week and struggled to escape California a couple games ago should knock off the No. 1 team in the land.

But if you’re completely confident, you haven’t been watching Georgia this year.

The Bulldogs have shown flashes of what they can be — still the best team in the country. But the slow starts are a concern. The special teams miscues are a concern. The late scores allowed to UAB are a concern.

We know Georgia should cruise next week, but it’s time for it to leave no doubt.