ATHENS — Kirby Smart is the most proven coach in college football, and it’s really not debatable.

Smart is typically two steps ahead of the college football world and has built the best program in the nation, but there’s a danger that comes with that: a reluctance to change.

It wasn’t so long ago that Smart would say, “If it ain’t broke, find a way to fix it.”

A 45-7 home-opening win suggests at surface level Georgia football isn’t broke, but some things need fixing sooner than later.

Yes, it’s a long season and Smart’s teams always get better as the seasons progress with better player development than most other programs.

But some issues could be systemic.

1. Quarterback play, for all of Gunner Stockton’s intangibles and knowledge, the current version of offense grinds more than it glides down the field.

2. The Bulldogs, for all the different RB weapons and continuity built on the offensive line, struggled in short-yardage situations.

3. Outside of Zachariah Branch, other explosive elements have yet to emerge.

The G-Day Game was one thing, but Saturday’s opponent was a completely overhauled Marshall team with a new head coach in a program that lost 78 players in the transfer portal.

Yet, Georgia was forced to punt on three of its first six offensive possessions.

At that, the Bulldogs needed fourth-down conversions to sustain and score on its first two TD drives before a blocked punt set up a 20-yard drive that led to the third touchdown.

This, against a Marshall team that has the lowest player retention rate in the FBS ranks (27 percent).

Does QB play require better downfield passing?

A quarterback’s ability to stretch the field vertically and horizontally with strong, accurate throws is typically key, as it creates more space for plays to be made.

Georgia’s most explosive play on Saturday — really, only truly explosive play (over 25 yards), was a check down pass to Branch a yard behind the line of scrimmage that the USC transfer turned upfield for a 47-yard score.

It’s worth noting 156 of the Bulldogs’ 249 yards passing came on yards after the catch.

Stockton’s longest “air yards” completion traveled 26 yards from the line of scrimmage to Oscar Delp and appeared to be under thrown.

Smart has been conservative with the pass game before, erring on the side of caution when it comes to certain quarterbacks pushing throws downfield verses a shorter, safer — and ideally — more efficient approach.

Does talent and physicality translate in UGA power run game?

Yes, Marshall was overplaying the run with its personnel and alignment, but Georgia had a lot of big bodies firing off the ball in third-and-short situations.

The starting offensive line on Saturday wasn’t able to convert on three occasions when Georgia’s offense opted to run the football on third down with 3 or less yards to go.

• Third-and-3 at the Marshall 32, Cash Jones up the middle for 1 yard

• Third-and-1 at the Marshall 13, Nate Frazier up the middle, no gain

• Third-and-1 at the Marshall 11, Stockton keeps for an 11-yard TD

• Third-and-3 at the Marshall 3, Stockton keeps for 1 yard

Is it play calling or personnel?

Smart insists that it’s not as simple as running heavier, stronger backs into the line of scrimmage.

It’s certainly not a matter of prioritizing, Smart has said he wants a Georgia team that can make the tough yards when it has to, so more work is ahead.

Do Georgia playmakers have championship-level juice?

Explosive players make explosive plays, hence Branch’s great value to the team, and the question of utilizing — risking — him on the punt return team once games are no longer in the balance.

But beyond Branch, who is Georgia’s most explosive player in this offensive scheme?

There’s only one football, so a hierarchy of sorts needs to be in place — and it can’t be as simple as taking what the defense gives, because the defense works to take the best players away.

Smart’s offenses, it seems, have a chameleon effect about them, which surely makes it hard on defenses to know what to dial in on in preparation.

When there are multiple explosive players — Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey, James Cook, Stetson Bennett — the chameleon approach can be dangerous for defenses.

But other than Branch, which current UGA player has shown the tackle-breaking, dynamic burst or open-field moves to hit the home run from anywhere on the field?

Again, it’s early, and this Georgia team appears extremely athletic, physical and talented, even if all the pieces haven’t clicked into place quite yet.

Defensively, there is grace, and no second-guessing or scrutiny from the Marshall game.

Smart has built the most elite of defenses, and this group appears to have all the right parts and championship depth.

The Bulldogs were intentionally vanilla against Marshall and no doubt Glenn Schumann is plotting some diabolical pressure packages and mind-numbing coverage combinations to make life miserable for Tennessee in two weeks.

It appears the offense is a much bigger question mark and work in progress.