Georgia football: Top performers from the win over Notre Dame
The entire defense
What can be said about that defense? The offense only put up 20 points, probably should have scored more. But the defense kept pounding. Dominick Sanders said that Georgia was going to punish Notre Dame and they did just that.
The Fighting Irish only gained 266 yards on offense, 55 of those yards came on the ground. Notre Dame’s offensive line was hyped up all week-long, but Georgia’s front seven was better in every way.
Trenton Thompson and the rest of the lineman did not allow Notre Dame to get any kind of push for the whole game. They dominated the line of scrimmage with what seemed like relative ease. That led to amazing games by the linebackers.
Roquan Smith played all over the field. He was never not around the ball. There was one Notre Dame possession where he made every tackle. A stop of quarterback Brandon Wimbush on the left side of their field, followed by a sack of Wimbush and ending with a stop on the right side.
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It became obvious Saturday night that Smith is one of the best inside linebackers in the nation. But it was a little sad coming to the realization that he will likely be playing in the NFL next year.
Then the outside backers had the best game of their careers. Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy combined for 13 tackles with two sacks. They terrorized Wimbush all night long and were even great in stopping the run. It was a fitting end to the game when Bellamy sacked Wimbush from his blind side, causing a fumble that Carter recovered.
Then there’s J.R. Reed who once again led the team in tackles. The transfer from Tulsa looks like an SEC veteran. He’s impossible to block with his speed. He fly’s from his safety spot to make tackles and he does not ever miss.
But everyone from Aaron Davis to Walter Grant played great Saturday. It was a joy to watch them punish Notre Dame for the entirety of the game.