On Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, the first half made me wonder where the confident and talented Bulldogs hid. It shouldn’t have been surprising, given the performances we witnessed in the lead-up to the Bama loss. Georgia, a team we expected to dominate, was toyed with in the first half, a stark contrast to the teams Georgia fans have been accustomed to enjoying.

As a game day photographer, I always position myself to shoot into the faces of the Georgia team, moving between end zones after each quarter. This tactic typically provides excellent opportunities to capture the Bulldogs’ offensive and defensive stars as they go about dismantling the hopes and dreams of opposing teams. However, this week, Georgia’s offense seemed stuck on the other end of the field for the entire half. Interceptions, fumbles, missed blocks, and muffed tackles punctuated the action as the Dawgs dug hole after hole for themselves on both sides of the ball.

It is difficult to grasp the cause of Georgia’s recurring slow-start nightmare, but the condition is real. Yes, the Dawgs fought back and briefly took the lead in the closing minutes, but Saturday’s effort was not the brand of football that fans have grown used to seeing from Kirby’s teams.

Enough of the questioning. Georgia is an excellent football team, and an undefeated season is not required to make the College Football Playoff.

Kirby Smart has said several times that he doesn’t know the cause of the slow starts. If coaches can’t see the reason, it will be hard for the staff to fix it. However, there is one group that can fix it – team leadership. Georgia’s slow starts are due to something other than talent issues, coaching mismanagement or staff neglect. The problem resides inside the heads of the players on the field. If they can do it in the second half, they can do it in the first.

The time to get to work is now. Auburn awaits.