Georgia Bulldogs' one critical improvement took their defense to another level in huge SEC win over Texas
Heading into Week 8 the Georgia Bulldogs' defense had not looked like the vaunted Kirby Smart teams of recent college football legend. They ranked well outside the top ten in pass rush pressures among SEC teams. The defense had only managed ten sacks on the entire season. How was that defensive unit going to do […]
Heading into Week 8 the Georgia Bulldogs' defense had not looked like the vaunted Kirby Smart teams of recent college football legend. They ranked well outside the top ten in pass rush pressures among SEC teams. The defense had only managed ten sacks on the entire season. How was that defensive unit going to do anything to stop the Texas Longhorns' explosive passing attack with not one, but two elite quarterbacks to choose from?
It turns out Georgia may have been saving their best blitz packages for Texas all year long, and the long-dormant pass rush was just waiting to explode. As that pass rush pressure ramped up on Saturday neither Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers or Arch Manning ever stood a chance throughout nearly the entire matchup.
From drive one, Georgia's defense began deploying late pre-snap line shifts, misdirection with their off-ball linebackers, safeties, and slot defenders, and introduced delayed blitzes that created free runners to the quarterback. That daunting mix of pass rush havoc immediately threw Quinn Ewers off his game as he was averaging less than two yards per pass attempt through Texas' first three drives.
By the end of the first half Georgia had forced three turnovers, five punts, and had racked up five sacks. Quinn Ewers had been benched. Arch Manning came in and was utterly embarrassed on his 10 drop backs. The Bulldogs had taken a 23-0 lead almost exclusively because of their pass rush, rendering the game all but over by halftime.
Jalon Walker had already been Georgia's best pass rusher all year, but his performance against Texas set the tone for the entire team. Even when Walker was matched up against future first round NFL Draft pick offensive tackle Kelvin Banks, he still found ways to win, as you can see on his diving sack in the post below.
Walker ended up finishing the night with eight total tackles, three sacks and a fumble recovery. Six of those tackles, all three sacks, and his fumble recovery came in the first half alone. One of his sacks and the fumble recovery came on back to back plays, completely blowing up any chance for Texas to gain offensive momentum near the end of the first half.
Georgia ended up slowing things down in terms of their defensive dominance in the second half, but the game was never truly in jeopardy thanks to the Bulldogs' newfound (and constant) pass rush success. The team ended the night with 28 total pass rush pressures according to Pro Football Focus. Prior to this week Georgia had logged 89 total pressures on the season, or just under 15 pressures per game. That means the Bulldogs nearly doubled their season average in their stunning victory over Texas.
Mykel Williams tallied four pressures and two sacks in his first game "back" to full workload looking 100% healthy. Christen Miller nearly doubled his pass rush pressure total on the season (with five against Texas) stepping up at defensive tackle. Damon Wilson Jr, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, and Warren Brinson all logged multiple pressures as well.
If Georgia's pass rush continues improving, or just simply performs anywhere near the level of domination they displayed against the Longhorns on Saturday, Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs could be well on their way to another national championship this season. Not a single team in the country will be able to stop them if their defense plays like they did on Saturday.
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