Kirby Smart does not have a lot of questions pertaining to quarterback Carson Beck.

One of his few remaining ones should be answered Saturday at Auburn (3:30 p.m., CBS) when Beck faces the first true road test of his career.

“I think that’s something we’re all going to find out. I don’t think you know. He’s been through some ups and downs, he’s certainly been against good defenses like Auburn has,” Smart said during Monday’s press conference. “He goes against our guys. But it’s different when it’s live. So, you’ve got to find out how he responds to that.”

Although Beck has his share of detractors among some fans, his stats have been impressive.

Beck is currently third in the SEC, averaging 296 passing yards per game, and sixth in passing efficiency (164.26), having completed 65 of 103 passes for 1,184 yards and six touchdowns. He’s been intercepted just once.

Tight end Brock Bowers naturally believes Beck will be just fine.

“That element of crowd noise shouldn’t throw us off too much,” Bowers said. “We’ll prepare the way. We’ve got to anticipate and prepare checks, things like that, when it happens.”

Smart does not seem concerned, either.

“I’m very confident in Carson’s ability to communicate, to understand things,” Smart said. “He’s been in our system, but the only way you get good at these things, these situational football things, is by playing football for a long time. He’s been with us for a while, but this is his first chance to do it on the road.”

Smart was asked an interesting question on Monday. How close does he feel his Bulldogs are to being elite?

Obviously, Georgia is not there yet, but Smart said his team doesn’t have to be right now. It’s all about making consistent progress.

"I don't really judge it that way. I'm looking at the progress and how much we improve each week through our practices,” Smart said. “The game is such a small vision of what we see, and we put so much value in the prep, the walk-throughs, the reps, the good on good, the opportunity periods where we get younger players snaps.

"I put so much into that, and I've been very pleased with the progression we've had in that. As far as the field goes, it's so small. Every test is another chance. It's like these small chapters, and we're going into Chapter 5, and we've got to see how we do."

Overall, Smart feels progress is being made.

Although he could not put his finger on one specific area, he feels improvement is being made across the board.

“I feel like we had a really good test there against South Carolina, who was a really good football team in my opinion. We responded to that. As far as pinpointing the area, it's each day in practice. The perimeter blocking, the ability to execute calls on defense, and growing the library with what we feel comfortable with,” Smart said. “Our quarterback getting experience and playing well, they've done a good job. We did improve in the red area, but it was one game. It's like, in every game you can make a case for what you improved and what you went backwards in. It's hard to pinpoint one thing."

The SEC announced that Georgia’s home game against Kentucky on Oct. 7 will kick off at 7 p.m.

It will be televised on ESPN.

… Smart on the progress of Gabe Harris, who is playing defensive end: "I don't know that Gabe played a whole lot more. He did get an earlier opportunity I felt like,” Smart said. “He's coming along really well. He's developing and getting better each week and getting more opportunities due to the injuries. I'm hopeful that Gabe continues to grow.”

… Smart offered his take on Dylan Fairchild and Xavier Truss, now starting at left guard and right tackle, respectively: "They did a good job. They've played very consistently throughout the year, both of them have. Dylan has obviously played the same spot most of the time. Truss has played multiple spots. There are some things they can do better and clean up confidence-wise, but I think they're getting better. They understand where their help is, and what we're trying to do on certain plays. The only way you get used to that is to keep playing, and they've done that."

… Smart on Georgia’s wide receiver room: "I think the younger players have all made great progress. I think the inconsistency of the availability has been the bigger problem with the older players. Whether it's Rosemy (Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint), Ladd (McConkey), whether anyone is dinged, the use of Dillon (Bell) at running back. You've had that in and out, in and out,” Smart said. “Last week was the first week it was pretty consistent. Now it was consistent without Ladd, but it was consistent. You hope you have that consistency again this week. We've had some young guys grow up and make some plays. CJ Smith has stepped up and improved. We need to keep getting guys to do that."

… Regarding the progress of Andrew Paul: "Well he's basically like a freshman. A lot of our freshman running backs do it by committee. They get their opportunity, they get their turns,” Smart said. “He's really improved tremendously at his pass pro, picking people up. He's thick, he's heavy. We've got some guys that we feel are different than him in terms of weapons. Whether it's Cash (Jones), Dillon, Kendall (Milton), Daijun (Edwards); those guys are playing well, too. We feel like Andrew has done a good job and continues to improve."

… Smart on the play of the defense: "I think it's been really good in spurts and really poor in spurts. That's been a common theme, the consistency in performance. And it's not game by game—sometimes it's series by series. We've had the fortune of playing a lot of players. That's good because you gain depth doing that. We've played really dominant at times, sometimes against inferior opponents, and then we've had—our standard of defense here is so high,” Smart said. “What we consider good play versus other people, it may be viewed differently. We play against a good thrower and some good pass catchers; you're going to give up some plays. You've got to accept that. It's how you respond to that that's more important. Our swarm to the ball has been good. I like how our guys fly around. I love how they play, I love the passion they play with. Controlling the line of scrimmage is something we have to do. If we don't do that, it's the bare minimum."