Georgia Football is searching for an identity midway through the season and heading into a showdown in Texas

ATHENS, Ga. — Kirby Smart stood at the lectern and correctly assessed the gravity of this week’s game at Texas: “That’s really what you come to Georgia for, these moments. It should be exciting television.”

Then Smart assessed his team correctly again: “Is there any way we can continually improve and play more consistently as a team?”

He later put it another way: “We didn’t put together a complete game.”

In other words, this team hasn’t found its identity yet. And the worry is that it may not happen until it’s too late.

To be clear, this team is not in crisis mode. It’s still ranked fifth in the country, and even if it suffers a second loss on Saturday, the two losses are on the road against very good teams, and its College Football Playoff hopes remain very much alive.

But this is also a turning point for this team, perhaps even for the program. The coach is under more national scrutiny than ever for his off-field behavior and his handling of off-field arrests. On the field, the team that was in first place in the previous season is showing its weaknesses.

The problems lie on both sides of the ball, but especially on defense, which was the backbone of the program under Smart. But at midseason, a look at the SEC’s defensive rankings is shocking: Georgia ranks 12th in yards allowed per game. It has ranked first or second in this category for five consecutive years.

The pass defense is showing the wear and tear that comes with losing three starters to the NFL: Opponents have converted 33 percent on third downs, which puts Georgia eighth in the SEC after being No. 1 each of the last two years had been. The run defense has been leaky, especially around the edges: The Bulldogs rank 10th in the SEC in rush defense, down from third last year and first every year from 2019 to 2022. Yikes.

There are still moments where this defense flashes, and it’s good enough to win games, but it’s a far cry from the shutdown unit it once was.

The offense, meanwhile, has shown explosiveness and acquired the identity of a downfield pass attack that sets up the run: Georgia ranks second in the SEC in passes of 20 and 30 yards. But quarterback Carson Beck has made unusual mistakes: two games with multiple interceptions, after zero such games last year. The running game is inconsistent, as Georgia ranks just 10th in the SEC in rushing yards per attempt, a category in which it hasn’t finished lower than fourth since Smart’s first year as coach. The main culprit is the offensive line, which has yet to live up to the preseason hype, is suffering in part from Tate Ratledge’s ankle injury, but overall hasn’t yet gotten going. The perimeter blocking wasn’t great and hindered the offense’s screen game and ability to run to the rim, which is crucial for dynamic tailbacks like Trevor Etienne and Nate Frazier.

And yet that offense rallied from a 28-0 deficit at Alabama to score 41 points against Mississippi State, 34 against Clemson and 31 against Auburn. It was also an offense that managed just 13 points at Kentucky and faltered early against Clemson and Alabama. You don’t know what you’re going to get from ride to ride.

But beyond the statistics, there are intangibles: leadership is part of the question of identity. Contrary to the public image of the program due to the arrests, those close to the program feel that there may be too many nice players and not enough alpha guys. One person described this as the nicest group he had ever been in. But it’s an open question whether they can take the lead, players with an advantage. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the quarterback: Stetson Bennett wasn’t loud, neither was Beck. But who are the Nakobe Deans, Nolan Smiths, Lorenzo Carters and Davin Bellamys of this group?

They may still show up. Younger players may take on more singing roles as the season progresses. Smart described sophomore tight end Lawson Luckie as an alpha type, and the more prominent he takes on the role, the more responsibility he can take on.

The sooner the better. Texas is not a game you have to win, but it is a game you have to do well. A convincing defeat in Austin would make things worse. Georgia fans who were already nervous would go into fear mode. Outside observers would be harsh. Opposing fans would act harsher.

A narrow defeat would be something different. Yes, it would still hurt and further reduce this team’s margin for error and nearly eliminate them from SEC Championship Game contention. But a 10-2 record would almost certainly still put Georgia in the College Football Playoff, maybe even a home game, and the Ole Miss and Tennessee games look more winnable than they did a few weeks ago.

For anyone still willing to bury Georgia, here’s the question: How many other teams would be 0-2 if they played Alabama and Texas on the road? Almost every. Maybe everyone.

Of course, a win on Saturday would change everything. It would immediately be the best win of any playoff contender. That’s what makes this game so huge: big potential for Georgia, high risk. However, some perspective is required here.

Given the schedule, it was always going to be a difficult season for Georgia, and under those circumstances there would be no shame in missing the playoffs. It would be a measure of humility, but it’s still the same coach and program that has two rings, recruits at the top level, and is perfectly capable of winning it all without changing much if anything about the way things are done , how they do things.

This is a look into the future. In the short term, this team is still fully capable of winning Saturday or losing a narrow win and then making another attempt to win the whole thing. Injuries aside, the key for this team is simply to get into the 12-man field and be the team no one wants to play against.

But first, the Bulldogs must find themselves and an elusive identity. The journey continues and will not be like previous years. We’ve gotten used to seeing Georgia’s seasons as more straightforward, straight-up dominance in the regular season with only one hiccup (a la Missouri in 2022). There has been more than one incident this season, but that doesn’t mean it can’t still end with us winning a trophy.

But can we sit here today and confidently say that it will be so? No. This Saturday will tell us a lot.

(Top photo by Kirby Smart: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)