Dawgs Daily

Grade Report: Georgia's Defense Has Best Performance Yet

As the dust settles from Georgia's dismantling of the Tennessee Volunteers, we bring you the grade report for this Bulldogs defense that held this Vols offense to just 13 points.

Brooks Austin

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The Georgia Bulldogs are back on top of college football following their 27 to 13 win over the Tennessee Volunteers in Athens on Saturday night. They held a Tennessee team that was averaging 50+ points entering Saturday's matchup without a touchdown until four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. It was a complete dismantling of an offense that some were comparing to the sport's best units to date. 

So, as we hand out our grade report this week, we start in the obvious place, the defense. 

Defensive Line: A+ 

Georgia entered Saturday's matchup with just 10.0 sacks, 120th best in college football. Though head coach Kirby Smart continued to reiterate throughout the lead-up to Tennessee that he was pleased with the pressure rate that they'd managed to produce to date. Then Saturday came, and Georgia pinned their ears back against Tennessee, sacking Hooker 6.0 times on the afternoon. And though a third of those sacks were attributed to Javon Bullard, a defensive back, it was Jalen Carter and Co. that were pushing the pocket for four quarters. 

Linebackers: A+ 

Georgia didn't have a signal illegal procedure, they didn't have a single busted play, and they allowed just one explosive as a unit.  A tremendous amount of credit for the execution of this football team lies on the shoulders of Jamon Dumas-Johnson. Dumas-Johnson is the unquestioned leader of this defense, who was tasked with making sure this unit "had their cleats in the ground" and ready for the next snap as Kirby Smart talked after the game. 

Defensive Backs: A++

Kirby Smart was pretty clear leading up to this football game that Georgia was going to have to have a big day from the guys covering these Tennessee wide receivers. Malaki Starks, Christopher Smith, Javon Bullard, Kamari Lassiter, and Kelee Ringo were the primary reason this football team performed the way in which they did. 

Georgia's ability to send pressure and get after Hendon Hooker wouldn't have been possible if the backend wasn't covering as closely as they did. If there was any momentum at all for the Volunteers in the first half, it was extinguished by Kelee Ringo's insane interception. Then Javon Bullard's 2.0 sacks seemingly sealed the football game for the Bulldogs. A tremendous performance for this defensive back unit. 

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Brooks Austin
BROOKS AUSTIN

Brooks Austin is a former college football player turned journalist and broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter @BrooksAustinBA

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