How would you feel after shutting down the top offense in college football?

If your answer is something like "oozing with confidence," then you're similar to the members of Georgia's defense. The Bulldogs stifled No. 1 Tennessee on Saturday afternoon, holding the Volunteers well below their season averages in points, total offense, passing yards, and rushing yards.

But now the page has been turned. As Georgia stares down the final three games of the regular season, the Bulldog defense is brimming with confidence.

Georgia's first test after the Tennessee win comes this Saturday night against the Air Raid attack of Mike Leach and Mississippi State.

The maroon Bulldogs rank eighth in the nation in passing yards per game at 325.6. Mississippi State also averages just a tick under 50 passing attempts per game, leading the nation in that category.

"People would probably think they're similar to Tennessee," Smart said. "But they're really not similar to Tennessee. So it's become a third week of facing a different kind of offense in terms of what they do offensively. And very, very few of our calls and schemes carry over from one week to the next when you play this offense. So it's a new challenge for our guys."

There is at least one similarity to the Volunteer offense. Both Mississippi State and Tennessee like to spread the defense out, then attack through the run game.

"There's more gaps in the run game," Smart said. "They're really gashing people running the ball this year. And I think that's the biggest difference—they're committed to running the ball and being physical upfront. And people have the wrong demeanor when they go to play this team that, ‘Oh, man I'm going to go out here and pass rush and get all these sacks.’ They're not going to let you do that."

Mississippi State's season average is around 80 rushing yards per game. Over the last three games, all against SEC opponents, the Bulldogs have amassed 32 rushing yards per game.

Smart noted there's not a lot to take schematically from the Tennessee win. From a confidence standpoint, however, the Bulldogs gleaned a lot from last Saturday.

Cornerback Kelee Ringo called the Tennessee win "a pretty good feeling." He knows the team still needs to improve the little details, but a dominant performance over Tennessee didn't leave too much to be desired.

According to Ringo, it all starts in practice. He and his teammates often mention that the team's training during the week is harder than the games on Saturday.

"Sometimes I’ll line up and the team does a certain motion or gets in a certain formation and I’m like, ‘Oh, this looks familiar.’ Then the play's over and I’m like, I’ve definitely seen that before," Ringo said. "Obviously it’s a hint at exactly what they’re going to do, but I feel like we prepare so well that honestly the practices are much (harder) than the games. It’s definitely a pretty good feeling and a great confidence booster, because you know the type of looks you’re going to be able to see and the thing they’re going to try to do to attack you guys."

Those practices are at the key of Georgia's success on both sides of the ball. The coaches put the team in adverse situations with the goal of preparing them for real-game adversity.

That helped the Bulldogs conquer their toughest test so far in Tennessee. With another undefeated regular season in their sights, Georgia is full of belief in itself as the season heads down the stretch.