Georgia's defense rises to the occasion against Tennessee
Georgia's defense rises to the occasion against Tennessee
ATHENS — Tennessee entered Saturday’s matchup against Georgia ranked No. 1 nationally in scoring offense (49.4 points per game) and total offense (530.1 yards per game).
However, the Bulldogs, who already ranked third overall in the country in total defense, shut down the Volunteers’ high-powered offense attack in a dominant 27-13 victory.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had an aggressive game plan and his players executed it.
"Our kids understood the plan and they stuck to the plan. The plan was a hard practice, with a lot of reps, a lot of organization, and a lot of details in terms of how fast can we duplicate their speed, maybe even faster,” Smart said. “Can we get lined up and execute? Can we stop the run? I think all of the questions that we had coming in, you know, we don't get to play against that kind of offense. So, it's tough to prepare for."
The plan was for the Bulldogs to first get after quarterback Hendon Hooker and rattle him. They ended up sacking him six times and forced an INT in their performance. Hooker repeatedly was on the run and missed a couple of deep passes to his wide receivers. He finished the game completing 23-of-33 passes for 195 yards, zero TDs and an INT.
The second goal for Georgia was to take away Tennessee’s run game. The Bulldogs’ front seven dominated upfront and forced two fumbles while recording eight tackles for loss. Volunteer running backs Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small could never get a rhythm going. Their rushing attack was held to 94 yards and averaged only 2.2 yards per attempt.
Tennessee averaged nearly 200 yards heading into the game. The Bulldogs’ front seven didn’t really stack the box, so they had to play stout against the likes of Wright and Small. The two talented Volunteer tailbacks were held to 77 yards on the ground and one TD.
Georgia defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse acknowledged how Georgia handled the rushing attack.
"It was probably going to be like five to six of us in the box. Just doing that, we just had to expect the worst to happen,” Stackhouse said. “The only thing we do pride ourselves on - defensive-line-wise - is defeating the run. If we have only four guys in the box or maybe five guys in the box against their six or seven, we were able to just dominate."
Georgia inside linebacker Smael Mondon felt the entire defense play as a unit on Saturday.
"I feel like it was 11 [players] working as one," Mondon said. "Everybody was on the same page. We all stuck to the plan. The coaches gave us a good plan and we executed it."
Tennessee’s passing attack also suffered as the Bulldog secondary played tough. They held Volunteer receivers Cedric Tillman, Jaylin Hyatt, and Bru McCoy in check for most of the game. None of them, or the two other Tennessee players that caught passes, were potential vertical threats. They couldn’t create separation from Georgia’s defensive backs.
Part of that was due to the pass rush of UGA’s front seven and the defensive backs’ ability to play great in space. Georgia’s six sacks against Tennessee was a season-high for the defense. The Bulldogs entered the contest ranked last in the SEC with 10 sacks through eight games.
Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo highlighted Smart had the right scheme for the Volunteers’ pass catchers.
"I feel like coach Smart definitely knows every single scheme and what we’re going to be attacked with,” Ringo said. “He puts us through harder situations than we’re actually going to see in the games. When it comes to the game, it’s definitely easier to be able to execute.”
Per Pro Football Focus, Tennessee’s offense entered the top-five matchup with 50 plays over 20-plus yards, which are deemed as “explosive.” The Bulldogs allowed only play over that total, which came in the fourth quarter when Hooker completed a pass to Hyatt for 28 yards. That set up the Volunteers’ only TD of the game, a 5-yard run by Wright.
Georgia’s defense held Tennessee to a season-low 289 yards of total offense. The Volunteers also didn’t convert on third-down like they normally do. They were held to 2-of-13 (15 percent) in third-down situations. Georgia also forced two turnovers as well.
Smart didn’t want to give Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and the Volunteers the edge. He used basketball terms when asked about how the defense prepared for Tennessee.
“We were not going to give them layups. If they go for a layup, we’re fouling,” Smart said. “We’re not giving them layups. We’re not giving them layups. We stayed away from layups.”
Here is the video from Smart’s postgame interview: