There's a difference between urgency and desperation.

Georgia knows that with a second loss now under its belt, its back is against the wall as far as the College Football Playoff is concerned. Since Saturday's loss to Ole Miss, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has taken notice of how his player leadership has responded.

"There was no lack of sense of urgency prior, but there's been a vocal piece of the leaders," Smart said Tuesday. "They've spoke up at meetings. They visually see it. You know, they called out and said, we need the greatest scout team work we've ever had. They went to the scout team and told them they wanted to get the best look they've ever had. I mean, the leaders are doing the right things. They're handling those things well, and they're also owning up to mistakes they've made or how they've played. If it hasn't been to their standard, they want to improve."

Tight end Lawson Luckie said the leaders have expressed a simple message.

"Our big thing now has just been we can't let Ole Miss beat us twice," Luckie said. "They already beat us last week. If we sit down and dwell on it, I mean, we can't sit back on what happened already. We’ve got to bounce back and move on from it."

But don't confuse that sense of urgency with desperation.

Smart said he's not approaching this weekend's matchup with Tennessee like a de facto playoff game. Despite title hopes that would be all but extinguished with another loss, the Bulldogs are trying to approach this next game like any other.

"I would just say it's a game for us that we have to execute in and perform well," offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild said. "I mean, I wouldn't say desperation. I would just say, it's a game we want to win. I mean, I think every game we want to win. Every game, every year we're striving to go to the playoffs. We're trying to get in those big championship games, and to do that, you've got to win."

While it's not necessarily being talked about as such, the showdown with Tennessee is essentially a playoff game for Georgia. The Bulldogs are well aware that if they want to keep their ultimate goal alive, the only step that matters is a victory on Saturday.

"We're just focused on this week," Luckie said. "We know we've got to win this game. That's all we're focused on."