“Our guys understand as the year goes on that teams tackle badly, teams cover badly. Defense usually deteriorates,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart. “That’s not the culture here. It will not be accepted or tolerated, so we must fix it.”
The game script certainly played a role in the way LSU attacked. The Tigers were down 35-10 after halftime and had no choice but to throw the ball.
Jayden Daniels threw for 208 yards in the first half but bounced back injured when Carter lifted him off the ground. Garrett Nussmeier came into play in the second half and started spraying the ball all over the field. He made numerous big plays, throwing for 294 yards on 27 passes. He threw two touchdowns, with many of the big plays taking cover against Kelee Ringo and Malaki Starks.
With a potential college football playoff game against strong passing offenses from Ohio State or TCU, the Georgia defense knows it needs to recover.
“We all know that Kelee is a good player, a top player in this class. I just need to get his confidence back,” said Dumas-Johnson. “Teammates will flock to him.”
Of course, LSU never got close, as the Georgia defense managed to take some big positions in the second half. It stuffed LSU to a fourth and one in the red zone. Smith added an interception in the fourth quarter, giving him three for the season.
Then Robert Beal released Nussmeier and stripped him while Warren Brinson followed after a fumble. Georgia finished the game with 4.0 sacks.
Still, Saturday was very far from the Georgia standard. Defensive players celebrated SEC championship wins that this group couldn’t do a season ago.
But with nearly a month of training before Georgia returns to the field for the College Football Playoffs semifinals, quite likely on the same field where Saturday’s game was played, the Bulldogs know they need to push harder.
“We have a lot to do,” Schmidt said. “Absolutely don’t flush it. But we were able to prevail with a great team win. We have to go back to the drawing board and keep working.”