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After another impressive performance, Georgia’s defense would feel right at home in SEC West
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Georgia’s offense has been strong all year, but the Bulldogs didn’t have much firepower on Saturday afternoon against South Carolina.
However, that didn’t seem to matter much, as coach Kirby Smart’s squad still picked up an important 24-10 victory to clinch the SEC East title.
That’s because, while the offense was having a workmanlike performance, the Bulldogs’ defense was outstanding, picking up the slack and then some against QB Jake Bentley and the Gamecocks.
Bentley threw for 227 yards and a touchdown, but he also tossed two interceptions — one to J.R. Reed and the other to Malkom Parrish.
Even when the Bulldogs weren’t grabbing picks, they were dominating the Gamecocks.
Georgia finished with five tackles for loss and broke up six passes, stifling every South Carolina attempt to get some rhythm offensively.
After the game, South Carolina coach Will Muschamp lamented the fact that the Gamecocks couldn’t have any sustained success:
Muschamp: We felt like we could throw the football in this ballgame. "We had to get more of a rhythm offensively." Just couldn't get D off the field.
— David Cloninger (@DCPandC) November 4, 2017
Comments like that are what you usually see coaches make after going up against elite SEC West defenses like Alabama, LSU and Auburn. Indeed, that’s the sort of company Georgia is in now, as the Bulldogs have ascended to the ranks of the elite in Smart’s second year.
LB Roquan Smith is perhaps the best linebacker in the SEC, and he finished Saturday’s game with nine tackles and 1.5 sacks. Reggie Carter is an excellent complement to Smith, as he added seven tackles and half a sack for good measure.
The defense feeds off those guys, and Dominick Sanders does a great job leading the secondary as a senior.
When comparing Georgia’s defense to Alabama’s, the Bulldogs have allowed 105 total points (11.7 points per game), while the Crimson Tide have allowed 88 total points (9.8 per game).
Since Smart was a former Alabama assistant, it should come as no surprise that he learned a lot from Nick Saban and has his defense playing like the Crimson Tide defenses he led to four national championships from 2009-2015.
He has athletes who can make plays sideline to sideline and are physical at the point of attack. Though the secondary was burned deep by Mizzou QB Drew Lock a few times earlier this season, that has seemingly been cleaned up, eliminating any glaring weakness in the unit.
A tough test looms when the Bulldogs travel to Auburn next weekend, but it’s the Tigers who will have to figure out how to score against Georgia’s defense. It will be a good test for the Tigers, who play Alabama later in the year, and one that will go a long way toward showing if the Bulldogs are true SEC title contenders or not.
Georgia’s defense is rolling now, though, so any team that lines up against the Bulldogs will have its work cut out for it.
The two biggest games remaining on Georgia’s schedule (at Auburn and the SEC Championship Game) will be against SEC West opponents. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, their defense is already built to handle the kind of intense competition that can be found in the SEC’s other division.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
