ATHENS, Ga. - This time last week, the Georgia Bulldogs were a top-10 team being viewed as a dark horse candidate for college football's four-team playoff.
The national perception is different now following Saturday's 26-24 escape of Nicholls State, but Bulldogs players insist their confidence level hasn't taken a hit entering this week's trip to Missouri. Georgia will play all eight of its Southeastern Conference opponents in the next nine weeks.
"I think we're still a confident team, but we know we have a lot of work to do," senior center Brandon Kublanow said.
Although its passing game didn't always click and special-teams gaffes occurred for a second consecutive game, Georgia's biggest concerns against the Colonels occurred in the running game. The Bulldogs rushed 39 times for 167 yards, averaging 4.3 yards per carry against a Nicholls defense that allowed 5.3 yards per rush last season.
In last year's game against an FCS foe, Georgia rushed 33 times for 261 yards (7.9 per carry) in a 48-6 trampling of Southern.
"We got out-hit, and you don't want that against anybody," junior tight end Jeb Blazevich said. "We didn't execute as well as we would like to, and we need to focus on the little things in terms of blocking."
The Bulldogs rushed for 289 yards in their opening 33-24 triumph over North Carolina, with Nick Chubb coming back from knee surgery with a riveting 32-carry, 222-yard, two-touchdown performance. Against Nicholls, however, Chubb rushed 20 times for 80 yards and one score, thus denting a potential Heisman Trophy candidacy a week after launching one.
Coach Kirby Smart said the Bulldogs have no choice but to get better up front with the guys they've got, which is the starting quintet of left tackle Tyler Catalina, left guard Isaiah Wynn, Kublanow, right guard Lamont Gaillard and right tackle Greg Pyke.
"The number one thing has got to be improvement - improvement in how you block, get your second step on the ground and making sure we get movement," Smart said. "Playing harder with a little more energy and enthusiasm would be the number one challenge. I think a big part of the offensive and defensive line is toughness and strike, and we did not do that Saturday.
"We are moving on from that now, and we have to go out and do a better job against a really good Missouri defensive line that is going to present a lot of the same challenges. They are a very athletic and disruptive group with a lot of tackles for loss and movement."
Missouri held Georgia to 120 rushing yards in last year's 9-6 meeting won by the Bulldogs, and the Tigers finished second in the SEC last season to Alabama in total defense (allowing 302 yards a game) and scoring defense (yielding 16.2 points per contest). Through two games this season, a 26-11 loss at West Virginia and a 61-21 rout of Eastern Michigan, the Tigers are allowing 461 yards a game.
For Georgia, though, it's more about working on its deficiencies from last Saturday with the realization opponents may put even more defenders in the box than before.
"It's always a numbers game, and North Carolina had just as many in the box as these guys did," Smart said. "People are always going to put more than you can block in the box, because they have to force you to throw the ball. It's the same thing we do defensively as well, but the bottom line is that we had some perimeter runs that were not blocked very well and some inside runs that were not blocked very well.
"We have to block better."
Kublanow and Blazevich have promised a better week of practice, insisting that what transpired against Nicholls will not be the norm the rest of the way.
"It is what it is," Kublanow said. "We made mistakes. We need to practice better, and on my part I need to command more out of the O-line. I need to be more vocal and make sure things are being done right."
Said Blazevich: "We're still confident because we know what we're capable of. That's what made Saturday frustrating."
Odds and ends
Greyson Lambert worked as the first-team quarterback during Tuesday's portion of practice that was open to the media, but Smart said afterward that a starter has not been determined.... The Bulldogs hold a 4-1 series edge over Missouri, including a 3-1 advantage since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.