ATHENS — It’s officially “Game Week” for the Georgia Bulldogs with Kirby Smart on the brink of his 10th season leading the program.

It’s all eyes forward for Smart as he looks to continue the unprecedented run of success he has brought to the program with UGA entering the season with its eighth-straight preseason Top 5 ranking.

The Bulldogs play at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Sanford Stadium against Marshall riding an SEC-record 31-game win streak.

Quarterback play remains one of Georgia’s bigger question marks entering the season with NFL-talent Carson Beck transferred to Miami, Fla.

Fourth-year quarterback Gunner Stockton is expected to make his second career start when the Bulldogs take the field on Saturday, though Smart rejected the opportunity to officially name the starter last week when asked in a press conference to do so.

Maybe Smart’s response means something, or maybe it means nothing, but it doesn’t change the fact that Georgia is inexperienced at the position and none of the quarterbacks on the current roster appear on NFL draft lists or preseason all-conference teams.

But as SEC legend Steve Spurrier reminded fans last week, the quarterback is only part of the equation, and Spurrier puts the coaching and “team” element over the signal caller.

Smart is the only active coach with an SEC championship to his name and one of only three active coaches to have won a national title (Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney are the others).

But the Georgia head coach, himself, referred to the 23-10 CFP Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame as a “nightmare,” and coaching decisions played a role in that defeat.

It also appeared the UGA staff was not at its best in the first half of the 41-34 loss to Alabama, as the Tide charged to a 30-7 halftime lead amid uncharacteristically poor Georgia defensive execution and broken assignments and dropped passes on offense.

Smart appears refreshed and recharged with the 2025 team.

While there are certainly challenges having 54 percent of a roster made up of first- or second-year players, there’s also enough new and promising faces for Smart and his staff to coach up.

The 2024 season was as bittersweet as college football comes, a tale of a team overcoming adversity to win an SEC championship, but ultimately falling short as a result of poor preparation, untimely calls and execution.

Georgia can only play this 2025 season one game at a time, and the opening contests against Marshall and Austin Peay aren’t fodder for national attention.

Smart, the motivational genius that he is, created his own offseason hype with his latest mantra of “Fire, Passion and Energy.”

The buzzphrase has stuck, with players repeating it in interviews, and fans showing interest in the blue helmet covers Smart awards to the players in practice who are bringing the most FPE — Fire, Passion and Energy.

The Bulldogs look to have all the necessary accessories in place at the offensive skill positions and second- and third levels of defense, and so the third major question that will determine season success is the line of scrimmage.

Specifically, how well the offensive line comes together and how powerful its push proves to be, and how much of a disruptive and disciplined impact the defensive front can provide.

Coaching, quarterback play and line play — the three things that will ultimately decide this Georgia football season.