The stats aren't pretty for Georgia's defense.

The Bulldogs gave up 563 total yards to Georgia Tech on Friday night. Of that total, 260 yards were on the ground, something head coach Kirby Smart said "is nothing to ever be proud of."

But late in the game, Georgia did just enough for the Bulldogs to escape with a 44-42 win over the Yellow Jackets in eight overtimes.

Smart called this week a "very tough gameplan week" largely due to the capabilities of Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King. Smart said the Bulldogs knew King had been getting healthier in the leadup to the game.

King certainly looked at or close to 100 percent against the Georgia defense. He passed for 303 yards and ran for 110 more while accounting for five total touchdowns.

King, who has been battling arm and shoulder injuries, caught the Bulldogs a bit off guard with his ability to push the ball down the field.

"What threw it off a little bit was Haynes King's ability to throw the ball, because everything we had been told is his injury prevented him from throwing it," Smart said. "Haynes came in and he threw the ball well and really had some advantageous looks to throw it off, because we had everybody committed to the box. I mean, like, we played stuff that we hadn't played since we played the old Georgia Tech. Like, you had to play them different. And it was so different for our guys. We played defense that we never played. And that made it hard."

The Yellow Jackets built a 20-6 lead through three quarters while moving the ball mostly at will. Success through the air and on the ground made a Georgia rally seem like a remote possibility.

But the defense made a play when needed. With just over two minutes remaining and Georgia down by seven, safety Dan Jackson forced a fumble that outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss recovered in Georgia Tech territory. That turnover set up the game-tying score, sending the game to overtime.

"I didn't know if it was fumbled or not. I just kind of, we always say jump on the ball no matter what. That time worked out good," Chambliss said. "We always want to play complementary football, give the ball to our offense. When our offense isn't doing good, we’ve got to get off the field. But I mean, we see it at the end, we did that."

The defense also stopped six of Georgia Tech's seven 2-point conversion attempts in overtime, helping preserve hope and eventually resulting in the win.

There is so much for the Georgia defense to work on with the SEC Championship and a potential College Football Playoff berth looming. But the Bulldogs also appreciate the fact of making a few plays when needed to avoid an upset rivalry loss.

"We just needed three and outs, takeaways, which we did," linebacker Jalon Walker said. "We had faith, I had faith. We had many conversations about how if we get the ball back to them, they'll score, as they did."