ATHENS — Mississippi State is coming to Georgia with legit confidence and upset hopes in mind.

“We have an incredible challenge on Saturday,” first year State coach Jeff Lebby said, “but our guys are excited about it.”

UGA (4-1, 1-0) plays host to Mississippi State at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday at Sanford Stadium.

The Maroon Bulldogs opened as a 34-point underdog to the Red & Black variety of Bulldogs representing Georgia, but that’s just a number.

After all, it was just two weeks ago that Mississippi State traveled to Austin to play the No. 1 team in the country, Texas, and kept it a one-score game until the final play of the third quarter before eventually losing 35-13.

Lebby, noted for his offensive coordinator and coaching background from stops at Oklahoma (2022-23), Ole Miss (2020-21), UCF (2019) and Baylor (2012-2016), recognizes the challenges in facing Georgia.

“They are really good in all three phases, they’ve done an unbelievable job building a program to sustain,” Lebby said. “I think you watch, and regardless of who is in the game, the expectation is for that guy to get done, exactly what the starter was trying to get done.”

Lebby, who team trailed Texas 14-6 until the final play of the third quarter, said offensive efficiency will be important on Saturday.

“We have to score touchdowns, not kick field goals, that will be a big piece of it,” Lebby said, “and we’re going to have to get off the field on third down.”

Mississippi State made things interesting — too interesting, for UGA fans — the most recent time they came to Sanford Stadium in the Covid season of 2020.

Georgia needed 401 yards passing from USC-transfer J.T. Daniels to pull out a 31-24 win in a bounce-back game following the loss to Florida that saw Stetson Bennett injure a shoulder.

Times have certainly changed since then, but transfers are no less important for Smart’s program, with Florida transfer Trevor Etienne spearheading the running backs room and Missouri transfer Dominic Lovett leading the UGA receivers.

Lebby’s Maroon Bulldogs, meanwhile, are led by freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr., who will be making his second career start.

“It was a huge opportunity for him last week to have this great amount of growth after getting his first start,” Lebby said. “The expectation for him was to play clean, take care of the football, be accurate and have great command.”

Van Burn Jr. responded with a respectable performance against No. 1-ranked Texas, 12-of-23 passing for 144 yards. The freshman was also sacked six times, but he did not turn the ball over.

Mississippi State, understandably, focused on the ground game, gaining 150 yards on 50 rush attempts.

The game plan might not shift so much at Georgia, as UGA ranks an eye-popping 53rd in the nation in rush defense, allowing 128.4 yards per game.

Lebby, whose team controlled the ball for 34 minutes, 57 seconds of the game against Texas, said it’s a matter of doing what works.

“For me it’s all about what creates an advantage, and that’s going to be week to week,” said Lebby, who has watched over some of the most explosive offenses in the nation before getting the job at Mississippi State.

“The ego part of it, you have to set it aside. It’s what gives our team to have its best chance for success, that’s what matters.”

Lebby believes the bye week has provided just what Mississippi State needs moving forward.

“We needed it, no question about it, from a health standpoint and be able to refocus and recalibrate,” Lebby said, “and get our guys a little bit of a break that they needed, and then get us back in this building with great energy.”