Georgia delivered its best defensive performance of the season against Texas this past Saturday in a 35-10 win.
The Longhorns struggled to get anything going offensively, as the Bulldogs’ defense was dominant.
“Proud of the defensive performance we had tonight, the third down, the pass rush, we controlled the run game,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “It was a total team effort, so really proud of the guys, happy for them.”
Texas quarterback Arch Manning was kept in check most of the night, completing 27 of 43 pass attempts for 251 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Georgia defensive back KJ Bolden picked off Manning, who was also limited in the run game. He scrambled for minus-17 rushing yards on five carries in the loss.
The Bulldog pass rush has struggled this year, entering last Saturday’s game with only eight sacks, and ranking last in the SEC. But the unit recorded a season-high three sacks against the Longhorns, along with seven tackles for loss.
“I feel like coming into this game, we knew what we wanted to do,” Georgia outside linebacker Quintavius Johnson said. “We knew that we wanted to keep the quarterback on track, and we knew that he was a capable runner, so we just did our job and rushed as a whole in the front.”
Johnson, Gabe Harris Jr., and Zayden Walker were the three Bulldogs who sacked Manning.
Georgia’s pressure on Manning, combined with its constant presence in the backfield, affected Texas. The Longhorns averaged 135 yards rushing per game before Saturday, but the Bulldogs limited them to just 23 yards on 17 carries.
“If you stop the run and take the lead, you get into passing situations,” Smart said. “We felt like we could rush the passer once we controlled the run game. And we were able to do that, and that’s a big part of who we are.”
Another sign of Georgia’s defensive strength was its performance on third down. The Bulldogs have struggled to get off the field in those situations this season, but held Texas to just 2-of-12 on third down last Saturday.
According to Smart, not just the defense, but the entire team played “down and dirty” against the Longhorns.
“Our kids loved it, because that’s our team; that’s our persona; that’s who we are,” Smart said. “So, if you’re willing to get down and dirty, and you wanna’ get down in the weeds, and you wanna’ go in there and hit people, stop people, crack people. If you’re willing to get down and dirty, then we’re gonna’ take you down there. We’re gonna see how long you wanna’ stay down there with us and how long you wanna’ keep doing it.”