Georgia's Malaki Starks sends message to secondary teammates ahead of Texas showdown

The Georgia Bulldogs came away with a 41-31 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday evening.

Georgia is now 5-1 on the season, but they're not playing like the contender that they're known to be -- which is something that needs to change, according to junior star safety Malaki Starks.

Starks called himself and his teammates out for their inconsistent play in the secondary after Saturday's struggles.

“I think things just gotta change from here on out,” Malaki Starks said. “You know, we gotta have better habits, we gotta practice better. We gotta bring energy to the game. I think when you play DB, you look at it and they usually have the most energy, and we gotta have that type of energy when we come out and play, and just be able to perform better, and at the end of the day just communicate and be able to execute our job.”

Georgia's defense allowed Mississippi State freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren to complete 20 of 37 passes for 306 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in just his second start.

The Bulldogs head to Austin, TX next week to face the undefeated and No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns where there will be no room for error if they want to come back to Athens with a win.

Related: Georgia's Kirby Smart gives unclear injury update on RB Branson Robinson following win over Mississippi State