ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart typically doesn’t spend much time addressing the “noise” outside of his program, but on Monday he made an exception.

“The offense that we’ve played this year is the exact same offense as we’ve played for the last three years,” Smart said, asked about the criticism new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo has been under even as the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs are off to a 3-0 start.

“Look at the plays — anybody that knows football would tell you that the plays are the same.”

Georgia is scoring 39 points per game so far this season, 2.1 points less than they were a season ago with UAB coming to Sanford Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.

Smart is the first to acknowledge the Bulldogs need to improve under the direction of first-year starting quarterback Carson Beck.

The head coach made it clear he does not believe the offensive philosophy he sets and ultimately oversees nor the play calling are issues.

“Our execution in the red area hadn’t been great, and hadn’t scored as many points (there),” Smart said. “We haven’t been as explosive and as dynamic, and some of that has to do with players being out, some of that has to do with executing.

“But very comfortable with where we are offensively.”

Smart has taken the time to explain how Georgia is relying more on a high-percentage, quick pass game — long handoffs, as UGA called them under former coordinator Todd Monken — to compensate for the lack of the power run game the Bulldogs have shown in the past.

Georgia has some injuries in the running back room that have dictated Bobo get creative to compensate for Kendall Milton (knee, hamstrings) and Andrew Paul (returning from 2022 knee surgery) being less than 100 percent, and Brandon Robinson (knee) being out for the season.

Daijun Edwards made his first appearance of the season in the 24-14 win over South Carolina after missing the first two games with a sprained knee.

The Bulldogs are also without their most explosive receiver, Ladd McConkey, who has missed the first three games with a back injury.

The Georgia offense scored only 3 points the first half of last Saturday’s game against the Gamecocks, but Smart pointed to the Red Zone woes.

“I mean we had a 13- and-11-play drive in the first half, that came out to be three points, you know what I mean?” Smart said, alluding to UGA’s inability to get the ball into the end zone and missing a 28-yard field goal.

“So that’s hard to do. If you look at it, like that’s really hard. You can’t have a 14-play drive and 11-play drive and get three points, usually.”

Smart explained to the media that he wasn’t as focused on looking back at the South Carolina game as looking forward to UAB, but he understood reporters were asking the questions they were seeing on message boards and hearing on call in shows.

“I’m really thinking about UAB, so I’m trying to keep you guys happy and appease you, but I’m very pleased with where things are,” Smart said.

“I’m not panicking in any kind of way, because South Carolina has a good team, and we’re figuring out who we are. We’re figuring out who we are with our identity, and I think our coaching staff and players and complete organization are doing a great job.

“You guys just aren’t happy with the results. But I’m very happy with the way our guys fought back and came back and overcame.”