It wasn't the best that we've seen from Georgia football, but the Bulldogs were able to hold on for the victory against Mississippi State in Week 7. There were a series of miscues from Georgia throughout the contest, as ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit pointed out what head coach Kirby Smart's squad needs to “clean up” before a huge Week 8 clash with Texas.

“Speaking of Georgia football, win by 10 today against Mississippi St but gave up 306 yards through the air. Gotta clean up their pass defense before next weeks game vs Ewers and Sark,” Herbstreit noted in his post on X, formerly Twitter.

Herbstreit's advice is clear. The Bulldogs have to make their pass defense a priority ahead their matchup against the No. 1 team in the country. Texas has looked superior on both sides of the football in the 2024-25 season. Quinn Ewers returned from injury in Week 7, and the junior went 20-of-29 for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception. There will be better stat lines from Ewers ahead, as he appeared to be shaking the rust off in their 34-3 win against the No. 18 Oklahoma Sooners.

As for Georgia, the offense was stellar, and Carson Beck played his best game this season in Week 7. The senior quarterback completed 36-of-48 passes for 459 yards and three touchdowns in Georgia's 41-31 victory over Mississippi State.

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Kirby Smart will have Georgia football fired up for Week 8

Georgia had quality defensive performances to start the season, but there were some flaws within the defense that were exposed when they suffered a Week 5 loss to Alabama. They gave up 21 first-quarter points against Jalen Milroe and the Crimson Tide's offense, and it put all of the undesired weight on Beck and the Bulldogs offense.

Luckily, they had a different result against Mississippi State, but that's unlikely to be the case against the Longhorns in Week 8. The Bulldogs defense picked off one pass, but allowed Michael Van Buren Jr. to throw for 306 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday.

Smart will likely focus on the pass defense in this week's practice, before Georgia football hits the road for what could be its most important matchup of the season.