NEW ORLEANS – It’s definitely been an eventful week for the Georgia football team since arriving in town for the Sugar Bowl.

Even before the Bulldogs touched down, there was plenty of focus over who got on the plane for the trip to New Orleans and who was left behind.

Although details still remain sketchy, you’ve heard the word “culture” bandied about more than once in regard to the Georgia football program, by media and fans alike.

There’s certainly been plenty to sink your teeth into.

Rumors that players, including some key performers, were left at home due to a combination of failed drug tests and failed grades, have been disturbing. They remain so. The thought that a number of Bulldogs would jeopardize their eligibility by breaking the rules or not putting forth the effort in the classroom was certainly a reason for consternation.

No one was really upset by the decisions made by Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson to skip the game in order to start focusing on the NFL Draft, but they were missed, too.

Smart’s decision to purposely avoid discussing player absences left Georgia’s head coach ripe for criticism, including by some who wondered aloud if the culture of accountability Smart has worked so hard to establish was starting to show some cracks.

Yet, Georgia’s 26-14 win over Baylor in Wednesday’s Sugar Bowl should be taken as a positive sign, or at the very least, a suggestion that the Bulldogs still have the kind of inner fortitude it’s going to take if Smart is to going lead his team to a national championship.

In spite of the absence of some high profile players, the Bulldogs had some of their younger members step up.

Lewis Cine started in place of J.R. Reed and played a solid game. The same can be said for seldom-used Warren Ericson, who found his way into the starting lineup at right guard after Ben Cleveland was left at home, according to his father, for academic reasons.

There was Zamir White, who received the lion’s share of carries at running back after D’Andre Swift’s shoulder was too painful to allow him to go. White finished with 18 carries for a career-best 92 yards.

Yes, this was a good team win for Georgia, one where the Bulldogs showed lots of energy and displayed some of the strongest passion they’ve played with all year.

The win also allowed the Bulldogs to learn another lesson, one Smart actually talked about in his post-game press conference.

Although it’s been suspected, Smart confirmed there’s been a sickness inside the walls of the Butts-Mehre Building, a disease that claims its share of victims every single year: complacency.

“There's a disease that creeps in at Georgia when kids believe they are better than they are, and they read their own press clippings,” Smart told reporters during his post-game press conference when asked about the play of Cine and White.

“Our team chaplain did a wonderful job today expressing that in a verse, and I can't quote the verse. Jake [Fromm] probably can. He basically said that when you start reading about yourself and believing your own press clippings is when you start to fall,” Smart said. “Those kids you just mentioned are tremendous players, but they'll only be as good as they can be if they stay as hungry as they are.”

Smart didn’t stop there.

“When you're not hungry, you become average. And some of that, I think, has affected us in the past,” he said. “We've got to find a way in this program to not let that creep in and keep that same hunger you have as a young player because we've had it happen to several guys that were really hungry, and then they became full. You can't become full when you go playing the teams we play against.”

Smart didn’t elaborate any further; neither did he indicate that he was aiming his remarks at his players who, again for whatever reason, either decided to remain or had to remain in Athens for the decisions they made.

That’s why Wednesday night’s win was a good lesson for the Bulldogs. One, they proved to themselves that they could win a top-10 matchup with new players, and two, they showed what can happen when that hunger and passion for victory keeps burning throughout the course of a game.

So, perhaps there was some good to come out of what’s been a week with its share of uneasy vibes.

There are still lessons to be learned, and it is Smart’s responsibility to make sure that happens.

Nevertheless, Wednesday’s victory was a good first step in getting the Bulldogs back on the same page.