What we learned from Georgia’s big season-opening win over Clemson
Much of the discussion around last week centered around two prolific offenses. Everyone knew Georgia and Clemson had dominant defensive fronts, but many wondered which offense would score in bunches and prevail.
By the time the game clock hit triple zeroes and teams congregated on the Bank of America Stadium turf, over 71,000 people saw a flashback. College football hopped into a time machine and reappeared in 2005 during this showdown of top-five foes.
Defenses dominated
A single possession defined the result in a grind-it-out game. Each offense felt stagnant and yards became seldom. For most of regulation, someone had to feel like former Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer raising his arms in elation after a 0-0 tie.
Georgia had to hang on in the game’s waning minutes after Clemson had a fourth-quarter swing of momentum, but the Bulldogs prevailed.
Georgia (1-0) edged Clemson 10-3 to claim a massive victory over the No. 3 Tigers in what could be the biggest regular season win in Kirby Smart’s six-year tenure as head coach.
An 10-yard rush by Zamir White with less than two minutes remaining sealed it.
As you try to exhale and relax a few tense nerves for the first time in over three hours, here are three things we learned from a season-opening thriller.
Sack machine
Over one second-half stretch, Travon Walker and Nakobe Dean put their massive frames on a little league football field. They flew in the backfield with their eyes locked in on Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. No offensive lineman could stop it as the duo got pressure on every play.
The pass rush, or what Georgia likes to call “havoc,” made the biggest difference in a down-to-the-wire victory. Georgia notched seven sacks in the win, which narrowly trails an eightsack performance in their last appearance in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
Six different Bulldogs in the front seven recorded a sack. Dean led the way with two, which topped his total of a sack-and-a-half from the entire 2020 season. Georgia’s pass rush frazzled a fairly-inexperienced Uiagalelei, which didn’t result in much for the Tigers in offensive production when they were already forced to play one dimensionally.
At the bitter end, when Georgia needed one more stop, you can guess what ended it. Georgia’s pass rush. Charlotte native Jordan Davis recorded a sack, then pressure forced a fourth-down incompletion three plays later. Georgia then found itself able to salt the game away and seal its cherished victory.
Lack of explosiveness
Georgia’s offense faced a massive challenge against Clemson. Much like itself, Georgia faced a dominant offense in Clemson. The Tigers made it hard to gain any traction in the run game, and JT Daniels found himself relying on short and intermediate passes.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken also decided to shy away from the explosive attempts. Georgia lacked some aggressiveness in the pass game, but some holes opened up by the Bulldogs’ powerful running back corps for some chunk plays.
Georgia recorded 256 yards of total offense, and Daniels had only 135 yards on 22 completions.
At the end of the day, however, defense got it done.
Christopher Smith’s massive interception
Only one touchdown was scored in Saturday’s game, and it didn’t come offensively.
Safety Christopher Smith telegraphed a pass from Uiagalelei. He snagged it and began to run. For each yard he ran, the young defender came closer to making the play that defined Georgia’s win.
He crossed the pylon after a 74yard sprint and that’s what solidified it for Georgia.
It marked Georgia’s second turnover of the game and Smith’s firstever interception.