Georgia football found a way to win on Saturday, and the defense deserves most of the credit. The Dawgs are now 1-0 on the season and got over the first hump of the season.
After rewatching the game and analyzing the stats, it’s evident that this defense is something special. There can be some improvements, but to shut down Clemson’s offense as they did, the remaining opponents Georgia has on their schedule should be worried.
Defensively, the Dawgs held Clemson to 180 total offensive yards — two rushing and 178 passing yards.
The last time anyone held the Tigers offense to around 180 yards was in 2017 during the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Alabama. The Tide held Clemson to 188 total offensive yards.
So it has been 56 games since someone slowed down the Tigers the way Georgia did, and that is something to brag about because Clemson has been on a long run.
What was even more impressive was that Georgia held Clemson to 90 total offensive yards in the first half and zero points, which was the first time in 143 games the Tigers were shut out in the first half.
We will break down the defensive stats even more in one of our takeaways because what they could accomplish against a defense that usually does that to opponents deserves its own section.
Offensively the Dawgs didn’t look untouchable or even that good, but after rewatching the game, they played a lot of young guys. Georgia also stuck to the whoever can establish a running game would win, and look what happened.
There were some bright spots and then some stuff that made us scratch our head, but it’s something they can improve.
Enough rambling, here are my four takeaways from the Dawgs soul-crushing victory over the Tigers on Saturday.
4:Youthful presence on offense showed
Georgia’s offense combined for 256 total yards — 135 through the air and 121 on the ground. There were a lot of short compact passes, and when they did try to go downfield, it wasn’t successful.
While that clearly frustrated Georgia fans online, we all must remember who is out with injuries that would usually be the guy downfield going after those balls — George Pickens, Darnell Washington and Dominick Blaylock.
Jermaine Burton was back out there, but he is returning from injury, so the Dawgs eased him back into things.
So who stepped in for those injured Dawgs — a bunch of freshmen and a walk-on wideout. Among the 13 targeted Dawgs were two true freshmen, three redshirt freshmen, two sophomores and a walk-on junior.
True freshman Brock Bowers led the team with six catches for 43 yards. James Cook had four catches for seven yards. Sophomore Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint had 2 catches for 12 yards, and redshirt freshman Ladd McConkey had two catches for 12 yards.
Even though JT Daniels had some questionable throws, which is me nitpicking his performance, he also dealt with an extremely young group that didn’t have a ton of experience. Daniels went 22-of-30, completing 73% of his passes, pretty decent if you as me.
The interception was thrown when one of those younger wideouts went too far for the route, and the defender cut him off and snagged the ball ‚— similar to what the Dawgs did in their interception. It wasn’t the best throw, but it wasn’t all Daniels’ fault.
So be patient, Georgia fans. The offense will be okay because these youngsters got a ton of game experience against one of the better teams they’ll face.
Sometimes, instead of blaming the quarterback for everything wrong, it’s good to look at who is around him. Could have Daniels been better, of course, but that’s not the point.
People should give Clemson credit because they are a strong defense and gave our offensive line, who lost a starter in the first series, a run for their money. A lot of credit should go to that Tiger defense because they did an excellent job against Georgia.
However, the Dawgs sustained a drive when it mattered, giving them the victory.
3: Dawgs’ rush attack found success when it mattered
In our three things the Dawgs must do to win the game, we said they would have to run the ball successfully to get the win. While it took all game to do that, the Dawgs found success on the ground when it mattered the most.
Georgia had 4:49 left on the clock and needed to find a way to get at least three first downs, to hold onto the ball long enough for time to run out or possibly score.
Zamir White, Cook and Kendall Milton were the three backs that got the job done that series. Georgia ran it nine times for 43 yards, and even though Clemson had stopped the Dawgs repeatedly on third down throughout the game, they got the first down when it mattered.
White showed some Herschel Walker moves running over a couple of Tiger defenders, which gave him even more momentum.
Milton ran over defenders and even sent a couple of them to the injury tent. This running back room is full of tough guys that aren’t afraid to get down and dirty. Not to mention the selflessness they showed by using three backs to get it done.
I must really praise them for that final drive. In the past, Georgia wouldn’t have kept the ball, or they would fail to get enough first downs and give their opponent another shot. There were no penalties, no funny play — it was just the offense doing their job and getting it done.
The intense look in their eyes told me that they weren’t fixing to give up this ball or give the Tigers another shot. Getting this win mattered more than anything else, and after their defense got the stop on fourth down, they understood the assignment and ran the clock out.
This group has the most experience right now with all the injuries, so I’m excited to see how they elevate the offense moving forward in the season.
2: Georgia Football’s pick-six proved to be the most important play
The game’s only touchdown came from Chris Smith cutting off a route, snagging an interception in the second quarter, and running it back 74 yards for a touchdown.
While no one would have predicted that would be the only touchdown of the game, it was and one that would prove to be the most important play of the game. Without that score, the game would have gone into overtime. If Jack Podlesney didn’t miss that first kick, the Dawgs would have won 6-3, but that isn’t the point here.
Smith is one of the veterans in the secondary for the Dawgs, and that interception had been a long time coming for the senior. He executed the play perfectly.
Latavious Brini set the play up beautifully, and Smith stole the ball and took off down the field. Only DJ Uiagalelei stood in his way, and that wasn’t fixing to happen.
Smith saw the endzone, and nothing could stop him from getting into it and scoring for his team. The best way to put it is, he was hell-bent and determined.
That interception gave the defense even more momentum to keep up the aggressive play, and in the long run, it paid off. Without that interception, there is no telling how the game would end, so it was my most important play of the game.
The second closest was stopping Clemson on fourth down on their last drive, but with Smith toting it all the way for a touchdown, it trumped that last drive.
1: Havoc plays were the difference-maker on defense
The biggest thing that I needed to see from Georgia on Saturday was havoc plays, and they did not disappoint. Georgia’s goal was 10, and they trumped that with at least 22 havoc plays.
There were seven sacks, eight tackles for loss, one interception, four pass breakups, and two quarterback hurries — though I feel like there were more than that because of the amount of pressure Georgia’s front seven put on Uiagalelei.
Georgia will likely update the stats by Tuesday, and those will tell the true story, so that’s why I said at least 22 havoc plays.
Six different players sacked Uiagalelei, with Nakobe Dean leading with two. Jordan Davis, Travon Walker, Nolan Smith, Adam Anderson and Jalen Carter all recorded one sack.
Davis was a huge piece of the puzzle for that front seven with two of his own tackles for loss. He and the rest of that front seven exploited Clemson’s offensive line badly, and they’re still haunting Uiagalelei’s dreams.
Lewis Cine led the defense with nine total tackles and tallied two pass breakups himself. Brini also tallied a crucial breakup in the endzone when this defense built a wall and held the Tigers out of the endzone.
While it wasn’t perfect with at least three pass interference calls — two on redshirt freshman Kelee Ringo alone — this unit stepped up massively.
That front seven is demoralizing, soul-crushing, and just flat-out dominant. They won the game for Georgia and showed who the better front seven was that night.
However, what stood out to me was their attention to detail and composure. Nobody panicked when something didn’t go their way. Instead, they refocused and got the job done.
Georgia proved a point on Saturday, and while it wasn’t perfect, it should still send a message to the rest of the SEC, because it’s going to be a long season for them.
If the Dawgs can stay healthy, it may get ugly.