After an exhilarating first week of college football, there are a lot of different storylines to analyze. Will Florida State come back to earth this season after last season’s championship? Will Alabama’s secondary improve after a shaky performance against West Virginia? Did Wisconsin’s meltdown against LSU seal the fate of the rest of the Big Ten’s chances for a spot in the College Football Playoff already? These are all valid questions as teams prepare for another week of football.
One of the biggest narratives, however, was Georgia’s dismantling of a solid Clemson team. You can look at the monster game from Todd Gurley, who made the absolute most of his carries, rushing 14 times for 193 yards and three scores. Oh, and don’t forget that game-changing 100-plus yard kickoff return for a touchdown that altered the complexion of the game. You can gawk at the depth of Georgia’s running back corps, which now has speedy Sony Michel (6 carries, 33 yards) and bruiser Nick Chubb (4 carries, 70 yards, 1 TD) to add to the mix. You can spotlight the field position battle that Georgia won handily, as its special teams performed well, routinely pinning Clemson deep in its own territory.
But the biggest story for the Georgia Bulldogs – now ranked sixth in the nation – is what they did after pinning Clemson deep in its own territory. The much maligned defense from last year took a major step forward on Saturday, and it truly was a sight for sore eyes for the Bulldog Nation. After a relatively shaky first half that saw Clemson protect well against the blitz, while throwing with relative ease against the secondary (save for some inexplicable drops that allowed Georgia to keep it close in the first half without much offense), something changed. A long-forgotten, almost mythical occurrence happened between the hedges on Saturday – halftime adjustments.
Jeremy Pruitt, Georgia’s knight in shining armor, had his defense ready to shift gears and disrupt a Clemson offense that was relatively productive in the first half. Take a look at these first half numbers: Clemson ran 54 plays, gained 276 yards and 15 first downs, scored 21 points and converted 7 of 13 third downs. By and large, that’s a solid first half for any team, on the road, against a top 15 opponent. After turning up the pressure on the quarterback and utilizing various alignments, formations, and personnel, Pruitt’s defense looked inspired, quelling Clemson’s offensive strengths for the remainder of the night. When all was said and done, Georgia held Clemson to 22 plays, 15 yards, one first down (0 for 7 on third down) and zero – yes, I said zero – points in the second half on route to a 45-21 drubbing in Athens.
Last season under Todd Grantham, Georgia’s defense held its opponent scoreless in just 12 quarters the entire season, and five of those 12 came against North Texas and Appalachian State. That leaves just seven quarters of scoreless football against quality opponents over an entire season. Last year’s defense also held opponents to 21 points or fewer just four times – against North Texas, Florida, Appalachian State, and Kentucky – arguably their easiest opponents on the schedule.
After one week of Jeremy Pruitt, Georgia is well on its way to blowing last year’s team out of the water. It appears the talent was there all along, with defensive forces such as Ramik Wilson, Amarlo Herrera and Leonard Floyd, but the right scheme makes all the difference.
The amount of upside for Pruitt’s defense is enormous. A word of warning to the rest of the college football world: if Pruitt’s defense continues to click and improve as they get more comfortable with the system, watch out. Georgia will be riding off into the sunset at the end of the year with a championship trophy in hand, which would be a glorious testament to Pruitt’s defensive coaching prowess.
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