Malaki Starks, Georgia defense make a play when it matters most

AUBURN, Ala. — Georgia’s defense didn’t play it’s best game. The Bulldogs gave up 219 yards rushing, their first time allowing over 200 since 2018. Albeit faced with a short field both times, they let Auburn into the end zone twice, the first time stretching the Tiger lead to two scores and the second allowing them to retake it early in the second half. Still, at the end of it when it mattered most, Georgia’s defense did the job and got off the field without allowing a score on Auburn’s final drive, helping the Bulldogs secure a tough road win over the Tigers.

“That we got it,” Georgia safety Malaki Starks said when asked what was going through his head going onto the field for the final drive. “This is nothing that we haven’t been there before for, not a situation that we haven’t done. I believed in every person out there, and I truly believed we were going to get a stop, and the game was going to be over.”

Sealing the deal on the win was Starks’ second interception of the season. On 4th and 9, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne threw across the middle where the sophomore safety was there to take away the pass intended for Jay Fair. He then took off the other direction, against the better advice of Kirby Smart, for 21 yards. Then, it was to the sidelines to celebrate securing the win.

“We had talked about the route before they ran it, so I knew it was coming,” Starks said about the interception. “When I saw the ball coming, I went to go get it. When I caught it, I made a business decision just to fall so the game was over. I’m very grateful.”

“Get down. That’s like the National Championship,” Smart said when asked his reaction to the interception, remembering a pair of big plays in Georgia Football history with Kelee Ringo’s pick-six and of course the infamous Prayer at Jordan-Hare from 2013. “I knew we could end the clock and he’s flinging the ball around trying to return it. It just goes back to the last time that happened here, you bat it down on fourth down. He picked it.”

While it wasn’t pretty, Starks said they understand how difficult it is to win on the road in the SEC in the Georgia locker room. Kirby Smart shared that message with the team and reporters having been around the league for a long time. The players, like Starks, that have been around the block a time or two know it too. For them, it’s about getting the win and moving on with improvement on the mind.

“A big one,” Starks said about the sigh of relief after a game like Saturday’s. “It’s tough to win on the road in the SEC. For us to come out here and play – I’ve got to give credit to the d-line, they got him off his pocket, the play wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t all worked as a unit.”

“I’m proud of ’em. Resilient as hell, competed. You know, the leadership of this team has shown up twice, and you don’t know how many times you’re going to be able to do that when you turn the ball over and you give people extra possessions,” Smart added. “You just can’t do that. Good football teams don’t do that, and good football teams don’t let people run the ball for over 200 yards. That’s one of the things that we knew they could do well. I thought they really ran the ball well and used the quarterback and rushed the ball on us. We can’t do that. We’ve got to be able to run the ball, too, but I’m proud of the way the guys fought.”

Georgia hosts Kentucky this coming Saturday in its first matchup of ranked teams. The Wildcats came to Athens undefeated and ranked No. 20 in the country after a win over Florida. Kickoff time at Sanford Stadium is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.