Last week, we thought we had homed in on Georgia’s offensive identity:

Get the ball to Bowers.

After a slow start to the season, it appeared that the Bulldogs had discovered that, hey, tight end Brock Bowers is in fact their best offensive weapon and, as a result, should have the ball in his hands on as many occasions as possible.

It took a half to rediscover that identity Saturday at Auburn. After it did, Georgia was able to recover and hold off the Tigers, 27-20, for its 22nd consecutive victory.

Bowers caught 6 passes for 148 yards in the 2nd half, including the game-winning touchdown with 3:29 left to play.

Let’s add a few caveats here. Without doing a full film review, it was clear Auburn was lending extra help Bowers’ way over the course of the first 2 quarters. No matter how good a player is, if he’s being blanketed by multiple defenders, it’s unwise just to force it his way regardless.

The supporting cast didn’t do enough to take attention off of him, and the offense struggled. It wasn’t until wide receiver Ladd McConkey, in his 1st game this season after missing time due to a back injury, made a handful of key catches that Bowers was able to find a little space.

Let’s dive in on some key factors:

Player of the Week: TE Brock Bowers

The numbers say a lot, but they don’t say all of it. To say that Bowers is the lifeblood of this offense would be putting it mildly. We’ll take it a step further: This offense is D.O.A. without the nation’s most dynamic skill player on the roster.

The running backs could improve with more health, and to be honest, they were fine Saturday. Daijun Edwards had another 76 yards and 2 scores. Dillon Bell did enough to spell Edwards. Quarterback Carson Beck is — despite what detractors may say — an effective player. Yes, he missed some throws, but he also made a couple of gutsy tosses that may have saved this game.

But …

No one impacts this offense like No. 19, and if Georgia can bottle that 2nd half and make that its offense going forward, it will continue to improve.

Freshman of the Week: K Peyton Woodring

Let’s throw some love to the kicker.

Woodring was in some bad shape a few weeks ago. He had missed a couple of key field-goal attempts against South Carolina. There was an open competition with the more experienced Jared Zirkel. Woodring reclaimed the job and has performed well since.

In a hostile environment, Woodring was perfect on 2 field goals and 3 extra points, and Georgia needed every single one of them.

Biggest surprise: TE Oscar Delp

I don’t want to pile on Delp, but there were fairly high hopes for the sophomore tight end after he showed flashes of brilliance in mop-up work a season ago. Instead this season, he has struggled.

Struggled in blocking, dropped a few passes and committed a crucial turnover that turned into an Auburn touchdown Saturday.

It’s hard to say from the comfort of our own homes, but the home run pass from Beck in the 1st half might have been partially Delp’s responsibility, as well. With no safety help over the top, the ball went toward center field. Delp stayed wide on the hash, and the ball sailed just past his outstretched hands.

Whoever it was on, it’s clear neither Beck nor Delp has quite found a comfort level with the other, and it has allowed defenses to remain focused on Bowers early in games.

Biggest concern: The run defense

You read that right.

Last week, I wrote about questions about the defense, and few, if any, of those were answered this week. Whether it was quarterbacks Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford or running backs Jarquez Hunter and Brian Battie, the Tigers imposed their will on the Georgia defense for the majority of the game.

It has become a trend this season to see quarterbacks find success on the ground. The Bulldogs need to rediscover their defensive roots and make opposing offenses more one-dimensional.

Developing trend: Stressful games

We’ll go into more detail on this in Monday’s piece, but Georgia has played a lot of stressful minutes so far this season.

Expect that trend to continue.

There are 2 facts Georgia fans must accept: 1. The Bulldogs can absolutely find a way to win their 3rd straight national title, and 2. it is going to be really freaking hard to do it.

Key stat: 4 catches for 38 yards for McConkey

What, those numbers don’t impress you?

How about this:

• 11-yard reception on 3rd-and-9
• 17-yard reception on 3rd-and-6
• 12-yard reception on 3rd-and-10

The last of these was a crucial reception, giving the Bulldogs a new set of downs trailing 17-10 late in the 3rd quarter. They scored on a 13-yard run by Edwards 3 plays later.

If McConkey was 100 percent healthy, there’s no question he’d be out there on a full-time basis. Still, his presence was a primary factor in Georgia’s ability to take some attention off Bowers and get the passing game going in the 2nd half.

The healthier he gets, the more potent the Bulldogs’ offense becomes.

First impression about Week 6: vs. Kentucky (5-0)

The Wildcats imposed their will against No. 22 Florida, winning their 3rd straight (and 4th of 6) in the series. Running back Ray Davis rushed for nearly 300 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win.

The Bulldogs have struggled against the run this year, but a lot of that has been credited to quarterbacks. If they can slow down Davis, they’ll have the edge. If they can’t, then Kentucky will be just the next SEC opponent to give them a scare.