ATHENS — Georgia’s defense is going back to basics ahead of its matchup against Florida.
Giving up five consecutive touchdowns to open the win over Ole Miss will have you doing it.
“Do simple better,” defensive lineman Jordan Hall said. “I know that’s for our room. Over the bye week we just did like a little self scout. Just look and see what you do wrong, try to get better at that, and really try to just attack the parts of our game that we feel like is weak.”
Do simple better has become the new mantra for a unit that has struggled, especially in SEC play.
Georgia has given up opening drive touchdowns in four of five games. Ole Miss, Tennessee and Alabama all topped 21 points in the opening half.
Now the Bulldogs will face a Florida offense that has a lot of talented pieces. Running back Jadan Baugh ranks fourth in the SEC in rushing yards per game. Florida’s offensive line is viewed as one of the best in the SEC and the Gators are brimming with talented pass catchers.
Part of the issues with the Florida offense stem from quarterback DJ Lagway, as he’s thrown nine interceptions. With a new staff and playcaller, Georgia expects Lagway to be a handful.
“Really hard to tackle when it comes to, if you do get through on the rush, if you ever get through, now I gotta finish,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of Lagway. “Finishing on a guy that size is harder than you think, in terms of his escapability and ability to lengthen plays and do things.”
With Billy Napier out and a Ryan O’Hara taking over as playcaller, the Gators have an element of mystery.
That makes it even more imperative for Georgia to do the little things well.
“I think I’d start with tackling,” Smart said. “I think, at the end of the day, that’s what defense is about. Good defenses have few missed tackles. When you look at the two of our lesser performances, there were a lot of missed tackles. The first thing you start with is that. You’ve got to tackle well. That starts with being in position to make the tackle, not being out of position.”
Hall expects Florida to still employ a lot of motion in an attempt to confuse the Georgia defense. It’ll be up to the defensive line to get off blocks and making disruptive plays, something Hall says the group needs to do more of moving forward.
Georgia has just 1.0 sack from a defensive lineman this season. As a team, the Bulldogs have 27.0 tackles for loss. UCLA and Army are the only teams in the country with fewer this season.
“Keep on stopping to run,” Hall said. “Get some sacks, get some sacks. Make some plays, some splash plays, and give our team a little bit more juice and just be that group that the team leans on when times are needed.”
The Bulldogs rank 12th in the country in rush defense, one of the few things they’ve done well this season.
Georgia is going to have to make even more adjustments moving forward if it is to slow down not just Florida, but the rest of its 2025 slate.
“Tackling well is key. Third-down defense, I’d like to see us get guys in third-and-long because we’re pretty successful when we get guys in third-and-long,” Smart said. “But that starts with first- and second-down. So it all carries over, and it all kinda bleeds into each other.”
Georgia defense wants to ‘do simple better’
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