Georgia's defense took an early punch and responded in a big way.

The Bulldogs fell in an early 10-0 hole against Tennessee on Saturday night. But Georgia allowed just seven points the rest of the way en route to a 31-17 victory.

"We stopped the run a little better, a little better, and that gave us a chance," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. "I was really proud of the secondary because you're in some really tough cover environments out there, like in space. And some of it, they helped us. I think they dropped some balls that were like bang, bang plays, but they didn't get behind us. And that's the big achievement, keep them in front of you, tackle them. I wasn't real pleased with the run stopping, but we did enough."

Tennessee's offense presents many unique challenges for opposing defenses.

The Volunteers utilize tempo as much as any offense in the country. They also split receivers out wider than normal to stretch opposing defenses thin.

The Bulldogs came up with a plan to shut it down.

"We had a game plan to just make sure everything is condensed for us, since the backers are staying in the box," linebacker Jalon Walker said. "They have a great running back, had a good quarterback as well. Knowing what they need to do, playing Tennessee football, you're going to see those top players. So just adjusting to the game, and doing what we need to do."

Georgia limited Tennessee to just 130 offensive yards while pitching a shutout in the second half. They also sacked Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava five times on the night.

"It's hard to get him down," Smart said. "I mean, that guy's a tough competitor now. I mean, I got a lot of respect for him to go through what he went through this week. He's got great quickness, great vision, and he's a really talented quarterback with a bright future.”

The strong effort started in practice this week with guidance from veterans such as senior linebacker Smael Mondon.

"I would just let guys know throughout the week to really just take practice serious, because the way we prepare for it, it usually gets us ready for it," Mondon said. "So just take practice serious, and then really just try to line up, get your cleats in the ground, get the call, because they're going real fast."

The Volunteers had Georgia on the ropes early. But the response from the defense allowed the offense to right itself and put up 31 points, taking down Tennessee and keeping Georgia's College Football Playoff hopes alive.