Welcome to this week’s “Gimme 5″ feature where we answer the most compelling questions on Georgia football.

This week’s question revolves around the hunger in the program and with the head coach, as the Bulldogs lost their No. 1 ranking after back-to-back lackluster wins over Kent State (39-22) and at Missouri (26-22).

“(Georgia) sure looked like the HUNTED the last 2 games. Is Kirby losing his competitive edge? Did that fat contract and NC win cause what he swore would not happen - complacency? Kirby has, up until this point, had a passionate - almost primal approach to the game. The complete opposite of chill. He’s never been one to make excuses, that appears to be changing.

Phillip Beck

MG: Kirby has not lost his hunger, but he’s breaking in many new players who have not been there and done that, and he’s fighting the human nature people have of becoming complacent after achieving great success.

Only one program has repeated as national champions in the past 25 years, and Kirby was a part of that at Alabama in 2011 and 2012, so he understands the mentally that’s needed to win back-to-back titles.

The problem is, Kirby Smart is also dealing with historic attrition between his record-setting draft, which saw 15 Bulldogs get drafted, and another 13 capable football players — four of them former starters — transfer out of the program.

WATCH: Former SEC coach makes guarantee on Kirby Smart, ‘relentless’ competitor

The proliferation of transfers has robbed Georgia of the sort of quality depth they could use now that there has been some attrition.

Jermaine Burton, Matt Landers and Justin Robinson might not be in starring roles had they not transferred away from the Bulldogs to play at other SEC programs, but with A.D. Mitchell out with a high ankle sprain and Ladd McConkey slowed by a foot injury one or all of them certainly would have come in handy,

Likewise in the secondary, where players like Divaad Wilson, Major Burns and Latavious Brini could have helped beef up the defensive backfield after William Poole’s retirement and Javon Bullard’s suspension.

The point is, this year’s Georgia team is in the process of building championship depth — it’s not there yet — but with each and every game younger and more inexperienced players and getting quality reps.

Last year’s team was remarkable in that it lost preseason Heisman Trophy favorite JT Daniels and sacks lead and projected first-rounder Adam Anderson and was able to plug-in capable fifth-year seniors who had starting experience in Stetson Bennett and Robert Beal.

This season’s team is much younger — but — Georgia does have the great advantage of having a back-loaded schedule.

Playing mediocre teams like Samford, South Carolina, Kent State, Missouri, Auburn and Vanderbilt in succession provides Georgia with a much wider margin for error than had the Bulldogs been tested by one of the tougher teams that will be waiting in November.

As for Smart’s mannerisms, the head coach knows that yelling and screaming on the sideline isn’t going to provide the sort of instruction that’s needed for the young players making mistakes.

Further, with the game in the balance, teams feed off their head coaches and this younger more inexperienced team needs to see calm and poise from their head coach.

Every year it’s different.

The frustration is understood, but championship seasons are a process, and to this point Georgia has remained unbeaten while playing younger and more inexperienced players significant snaps.

Stetson is still the obvious weakest link. The simple fix is to replace him with either of the superior quarterbacks. Is Kirby too stubborn?

Rick McQuiston

MG: There have been several issues with the offense, and while Stetson himself along with Kirby Smart have pointed out the quarterback has not been at his best, it would take a lot more for UGA to consider making a quarterback change.

Bennett has a great knowledge of the offense and typically makes the correct calls at the line of scrimmage, in terms of play calling and adjusting routes and protections.

Bennett also improved his footwork and the velocity he’s able to put on the ball in the offseason, enabling him to make some of the intermediate throws that were not in his arsenal last season.

WATCH: Onions! Stetson Bennett about to clear $1 million in NIL with new deal

Todd Monken has spent an offseason building an offense around Bennett’s skills, and while Carson Beck certainly has looked very strong and capable, it remains somewhat of an unknown what he would do as the starter.

Based on how Smart stuck with Bennett in rough outings last season with a capable and experienced JT Daniels on the bench, it seems highly unlikely there will be a quarterback change barring injury.

Dear Mike -

On behalf of the entire Bulldog Nation across the globe and the other 9+ billion members of humanity who are collectively scratching their heads this morning - Mr. Griffith would you mind asking Kirby Smart on Monday why we’re not throwing the ball to Darnell Washington when we’re inside the red zone.

Michael Scarn

MG: Your wish was granted on Tuesday, and here’s what Kirby Smart said when asked that exact question:

“We’ve called several plays in those situations for him. Some of them are based on a look, and some of them are based on a protection. There are plays built for a guy to be a red-zone target, and he certainly is that. If you miss a protection, miss a certain guy, or you miss a coverage, it can go some routes. There are doubles on guys in the interior. One of the calls was to him on the play that Brock made against South Carolina, but the look they gave us dictated to go to Brock. There have been several like that, but he is certainly a weapon that we get to use.”

Remove Kirby and Saban from the equation, which SEC coach is doing the best job?

Textdawg

MG: That’s a great question, with Tennessee (Josh Heupel) and Ole Miss (Lane Kiffin) still unbeaten, and LSU (Brian Kelly) with a perfect league record.

I’d have to give the early nod to Kiffin, as he is breaking in a new transfer quarterback and has reloaded his defense with several other transfer players.

The Rebels have the top rushing offense in the SEC, ranking fifth in the nation with 261.8 yards per game on the ground, and they are seventh in the nation and third in the SEC (behind Georgia and Alabama) in scoring defense (11.80 points per game).

Tennessee plays at LSU on Saturday, so we will learn more about just how fast and how far Brian Kelly has brought the Bayou Bengals and how legit the Vols are as a Top 10-ranked team.

Brock (Bowers) needs more touches. A lot more. Averaging only 4 catches per game. Only two (receiving) TDs in 5 games. What’s going on?

PGjackson

MG: It’s a fair question, and the answer is that defenses recognize No. 19 and make special plans for him that often involve an extra defender, so Bennett is taught to find the more advantageous matchup.

Georgia has gotten creative and handed him the ball three times, and he has scored on all three runs, so the concept of keeping Bowers involved is definitely there.

It’s worth noting that three of the games have been blowouts, are Smart and Monken aren’t going to be in a rush to overuse Bowers at insignificant moments knowing just how long the season becomes.

Bowers is an incredible talent who becomes the de facto go-to player whenever Bennett or the Bulldogs find themselves in trouble — he had 15 targets and caught 10 passes against Alabama in the 41-24 SEC title game loss last season.

It’s a good bet Monken is scheming right now to make Bowers a bigger part of the answer when teams press the receivers on the perimeter and bring pressure on Bennett.