Despite slow start, Georgia defense wins battle versus Vols

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kirby Smart knew where Saturday’s top-20 showdown with Tennessee would be decided. He felt that if his defense could get enough stops on the Volunteer offense and their downfield shots, the team would come out on top. The Bulldogs did just that, but it wasn’t without a bump in the road early.

For the fifth straight game, Georgia’s defense allowed its opponent to score a touchdown on the opening drive. Only this time, it happened fast. Just 11 seconds in, Tennessee was up 7-0 thanks to a 75-yard run by Jaylen Wright on the first play from scrimmage.

“I talked to Schumann before the game [and said], ‘Just let them score so we can get this over with,'” Smart joked. “We’ve consistently found a way to let them score first, have great first drives. We probably got a little aggressive there, and didn’t fit a play right. It’s simple. We just didn’t have a guy in the gap and the secondary has to get the guy on the ground. We historically, Georgia does not give up explosive runs. We have a great secondary that leverages the ball, we take a lot of pride in that so when the ball breaks out we’re going to get it before it gets 20. That didn’t happen. A lot of that has to do with their splits, but we didn’t fit a gap right and give them credit.”

There was no panic on the sidelines according to Smart and his players. After all, it’s a situation they’ve been in before.

“That’s not what we want as a defense,” inside linebacker Smael Mondon said. “We’ve just got to get the adjustments. Can’t really hang our head. It’s a long game, that was the first play of the game so there’s a lot of football left.”

Much like last week against Ole Miss though, after the opponent’s early success, there wasn’t much to be found for them. Tennessee’s next four drives saw the Vols off the field in six or fewer plays gaining less than 30 yards. None of the four drives took more than 2:00 off the clock.

“We get a lot of practice at it. Seriously, I don’t know how many times they’ve scored on the first drive, we’re 11-0 so maybe they’ve scored 11 straight. That doesn’t bother us because we know we can fix it,” Smart said about the adjustments that were made and staying poised despite the early problem. “There’s a lot of confidence when they jog off the field. Take a deep breath, get it fixed, we’ll get it right. And the kids believe in that. A lot of teams, when that landslide happens, that’s what I talk about with the offseason program and all the mental conditioning. We’re good, man. Let’s go fix this.”

As the game went on, Georgia of course stopped the run better than they did on that first play. Removing Wright’s 75-yard scamper, Tennessee rushed for just 55 yards on 24 attempts. Wright, who led the team with nine carries, averaged less than 2.0 yards per carry after his score.

The Bulldogs also did a good job against the passing attack of the Vols. Quarterback Joe Milton threw for 147 yards on 17-of-30 passing. His longest completion was a gain of 21, and only three plays through the air went for more than 15 yards.

“That’s the difference in the game. I told Shock (DJ Shockley) that. I told them before the game, on defense 40 percent of the game is can we destroy blockers and tackle the back. The other 40 percent is can we play with our back to the ball. Because they’re going to get your back to the ball. You’re going to have your back to the ball and you’re going to have to make a play. If you win about 66 percent, you’re good,” Smart said. “I feel like we had 3 times and we won 3. If you go 2 out of 3, you probably do ok. That’s what it boils down to when you play them. You have to play with your back to the ball and you have to stop the run.”

“Good plan by Schumann and them,” he continued. “Look, they have wide receivers that have been injured, and Josh’s offense is around the fact that you can’t cover guys on the perimeter. And they’ve got really good backs. They’re not quite the team that they were last year. I think he would openly admit that. They helped us some today, and the injuries they’ve had at wide out have made it tougher on them.”

Georgia’s next challenge comes on the road once again, only this time in a less hostile environment. The Bulldogs head to in-state rival Georgia Tech this coming Saturday to take on the bowl-eligible Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd Stadium, where the majority of fans are expected to be wearing red and black as opposed to blue and gold. Kickoff time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.