Tennessee was shocked by Georgia State. Missouri fell to Wyoming, and South Carolina lost to North Carolina.

From that standpoint, last weekend was not a good look for the SEC.

But as far as how external things applying to Georgia, entering Saturday’s home-opener against Murray State (4 p.m., ESPN2), Georgia's head coach said those teams’ early issues have nothing to do with what’s happening in Athens.

“Nothing that those programs have going on has anything to do with us,” head coach Kirby Smart said during Monday’s press conference. “We’re 100 percent concerned with the improvements we have to make, to do from a discipline standpoint, to timing, the passing game, a lot of things to focus on that our focus is us and our opponent Murray State.”

Linebacker Azeez Ojulari agreed, there’s no way the Bulldogs (1-0) will be overlooking the FCS Racers.

“We worry about us here, so we just come in ready to work every week, and never overlook an opponent,” Ojulari said. “We prepare for everyone the same, and attack every game the same.”

As noted by Smart, there’s obviously a lot to work on.

“Some was decision making, some aggressive, some just poor decisions, but each one different,” Smart said. “Sometimes, being aggressive is a good thing and helps you, sometimes making poor decisions kills you in big moments; you can’t have them. So you make sure you expose them to it, try to put them in those same situations again, and encourage them to make better decisions.”

Smart began Monday’s press conference by acknowledging Saturday’s ceremony for the renaming of Sanford Stadium to Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium.

The ceremony will take place before kickoff.

“This is a tremendous honor for him, one that he deserves and one that so many Dawg fans can associate with and the history that he’s done,” Smart said. ‘He and his wife Barbara have been such a great part of the Athens community and the University of Georgia, so we’re very excited for him.”

Smart’s relationship with Dooley, as you might imagine, goes way back.

“When I was a player, he would come in and talk to the team, he would come speak in the team meeting room when we played for Coach Goff. After that, I had some interactions with him on the Student Athletic Council Board, things like that. But he’s always been tremendous to me. My first real interaction was probably at LSU, when Derek (son Derek Dooley) was coaching, he’d come over to games and be around the staff. And up at the lake where my parents live, he’s got a home up there. Coach Dooley has been unbelievable to me, my parents, and also to me.”

Unless you were watching closely, you might not initially have noticed freshman defensive lineman Travon Walker taking part as one of the 11 men on kickoff coverage.

It wasn’t an accident.

“He’s one of the best 11 guys we can put out there. He’s extremely athletic, he’s got spacial awareness, he understands blocking schemes, he’s hard to block, and he runs fast,” Smart said. “We want the best 11 players we can put out there, and he’s one of them.”

Walker finished with two tackles seeing extensive time at defensive end.

Junior Malik Herring traveled to Vanderbilt Saturday but did not play.

After the game, all Smart said was that the defensive end “was fine.” He didn’t offer any more clarity when asked for an update Monday. “We talked about it after the game, that he continues to practice, and get better then he’ll play,” Smart said.

You had to watch closely, but freshman linebacker Nakobe Dean did get into Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt.

He just didn’t last long.

After one play, Dean’s ankle (sprain) was too painful for him to continue, much to Smart’s chagrin.

“Nakobe is hurting still. We thought he was close to being able to go into the game, and it’s still bothering him. He’s not 100 percent yet,” Smart said. “He was tough enough to get out there and try to go on it, but we didn’t feel like he could go on it, so we held him out after that.”

With Dean out, sophomore Quay Walker was able to take advantage, playing most of the second half, finishing with four tackles.

“Quay got quite a few snaps, and he continues to grow,” Smart said. “Quay keeps getting better.”

Andrew Thomas and senior place-kicker Rodrigo Blankenship have been awarded Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors following their performances during the Bulldogs’ 30-6 road win over Vanderbilt, according to a league announcement.

Thomas was named Offensive Lineman of the Week while Blankenship was tabbed as Special Teams Player of the Week.

Georgia’s junior left tackle graded out at 92 percent for the Vanderbilt contest, tallying five knockdowns from his left tackle position.

Blankenship was perfect on the night, converting 3-of-3 on both field goals and extra points. His first field goal in the third quarter came from 50 yards out, improving himself to 4-of-5 from 50 or more yards in his career. He also extended his school record to 157 consecutive PAT makes, moving him to No. 3 on the SEC’s all-time list and within striking distance of second place entering this week.

“I’m banking on habits. I really believe in fundamentals of football and what’s important is why it’s important to do it day in and day out. Explain that, and then having them do it. I’m banking on the overall fundamentals and effort from practice to create habits that show up in the game. If good habits show up in practice, they tend to show up in games. If bad habits show up in practice, they tend to show up in a game. In my history as coach, the guy who shows his colors is practice is probably going to do the same thing on the game field. You can’t read to much into it or over-analyze it to the point of, who is this team. It is what it is. We’ve got to get this team better. We’ve got to get our 70th guy better all the way to your first guy better and keep improving.” - Smart on what he’s counting on.

“I think the relief came after the scrimmages because that was the first real opportunity. I think he was anxious to get out there and go run the ball the other night. I thought he did a good job with opportunity. … He continues to get better and get healthier. I think the sky’s the limit because he continues to improve. He improves through protection and reps and getting more opportunities.” – Smart on Zamir White.

“They have to control the run game. When they have an opportunity to rush the passer, they have to be successful. They have to affect the quarterback. We have to give them the opportunity to get one-on-ones by bringing more people in forward, so they’re not fighting two people as much as we possibly can and be effective. I’m not disappointed with the effort. They didn’t give up a touchdown. In college football today, I don’t care who you’re playing, that’s hard to do. They played hard and they played well in the red area. We have to do a lot of things better.” – Smart on the play of the defensive line.

“I don’t think those were targets. One was a max-blitz. So, the max-blitz didn’t say we’re targeting him, that’s something the defense did to dictate that. There were a couple times the look he happened to be in. Matt Landers caught a comeback on their sideline that if that would have been George, George would have been in. The coverage dictated where the ball went. Sometimes that’s controlled by that. I don’t think there is anything that he could have done different to have a ball-call. Some of it was what people did around him to affect it. What he controls is how he blocks, how he runs his routes and what kind of effort and toughness he plays with. I thought he did a good job doing that.” – Smart on the play of wide receiver George Pickens.

“He has come a long way. Matt and I have had our differences on the practice field many of times and Matt has come a long way. I think that Matt has finally figured out that ‘if I play special teams and I play well, then I have an opportunity to contribute on offense and maybe even get some balls. You earn the right to do that by how you compete, what you do, and he’s come a long way. I’m really proud of Matt and how he’s grown up. He still has ways to go, but Matt has come a long way from a freshman that probably never played special teams.” – Smart on Matt Landers.

Saturday’s game will be televised by ESPN2. Beth Mowins, Anthony Becht and Rocky Boiman will be on the call.