ATHENS — Georgia football is not such a “mystery” team after its 44-41 overtime victory at Tennessee with Kirby Smart solving many of the answers his young team faced entering the fray.

To be clear, the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs have plenty of questions left to answer before they take the field at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 against No. 14 Alabama, but an identity has started to form.

Here are 5 things were have learned about Georgia’s 2025 football team through the first three games:

1. Gunner Stockton capable in clutch

Smart has been telling UGA fans this, and Stockton had won games, but there had been little evidence the fourth-year junior could put the team on his back when needed and respond in the passing game with clutch plays. Back to the wall in Neyland Stadium, Stockton delivered a perfectly thrown 28-yard touchdown pass to London Humphreys and followed with a fastball to Zachariah Branch for the all-important 2-point conversion after hitting Branch on a fourth-and-3 from the UGA 48 down 21-7 in the first quarter. All three were clutch throws.

2. Zachariah Branch THAT GUY

Branch is tied with Colbie Young for most times targeted (15) and has actually caught two less passes than Young (11-13), but the USC transfer is clearly the most explosive offensive weapon in the Bulldogs’ arsenal. Of Branch’s team-high 181 yards receiving, 178 of those yards have come after the catch (YAC). Young, by contrast, has gotten more of his receptions off “air yards,” running deep routes. Of Young’s 179 yards receiving, 94 have come after the catch. Branch was the go-to guy in two “gotta have it” plays at Tennessee, catching a slant to covert on fourth-an-3 from the UGA 48 in the first quarter, and reversing field after pre-snap motion before sprinting himself wide open into the corner of the end zone for the game-tying 2-point conversion in the final minutes. Branch is the X-factor in this offense, capable of changing the game at any point with his electric play.

3. Mike Bobo validation

The Georgia offensive coordinator once recruited Stockton when he was at South Carolina, clearly liking his skillset, and now he is getting to coach him at UGA and design a playbook and offense around his skillset. Saturday, at Tennessee, Bobo demonstrated expertise in getting the best out of Stockton’s abilities, and that’s the mark of good coaching — not asking players to do what they can’t do. Stockton’s clutch throws, on fourth down in the first quarter, to London Humphrey’s for the touchdown and to Branch for the 2-point conversion, were all in Stockton’s wheelhouse. Beyond Stockton, Bobo had a run play and formation shift up his sleeve, saved for the right occasion, and that level of planning and awareness in the moment is another mark of a veteran coach. It’s a guessing game between offensive and defensive coordinators for four quarters, and Bobo won the battles in clutch moments. As much criticism as Bobo and every offensive coordinator gets — it’s the easiest coaching position to second-guess — fans and analysts need to give credit when it’s due.

4. London Humphreys’ vision

Kirby Smart had a vision for Humphreys when he recruited him out of the portal from Vanderbilt and correctly assessed his character and abilities. It’s not a coincidence that, with the game on the line and one of the most difficult situations possible, that Humphreys’ number was called to make a clutch catch. More amazing, Smart revealed on Tuesday that Humphreys had not run the route in a scrimmage or game situation with Stockton ever before. The fact that play required such incredible timing and execution, with very little margin for error, under pressure … and Humphreys came through, is a testament to Smart’s vision and ability to evaluate players. It’s also a sign of things to come, as plays like that elevate the trust a quarterback and teammates have in the player who makes the game-saving play. Humphreys was already well-liked, but after a play like that, his status and influence within the team will be elevated.

5. Defense on notice

Much has been made about the level of involvement Will Muschamp has with the defense because of the great success he had coaching with the team during it’s back-to-back championships years and his reputation as an elite defensive mind and coordinator. But it also must be taken into consideration that Muschamp — and beloved former offensive coordinator Todd Monken — were working with a more talented and deeper roster than Georgia currently has. The roster Muschamp and Monken worked with had not been picked over or complicated by the NIL. That said, Glenn Schumann has a true opportunity to prove his value and ability to develop talent after Tennessee exposed the youth, inexperience and holes that every defense has at the start of the season. Knowing Smart, he will take this as a personal challenge, as he is also heavily involved in the defense, as well as challenge Schumann and the defensive staff to develop the players to the point they can execute the defense. Because this Georgia team is not built to win shootouts, as admirable as Saturday’s victory was, it was not conventional.