KNOXVILLE – For a team that lost such an amount of star power to the NFL Draft for the past two years, top-ranked Georgia’s defense continues to excel.

The Bulldogs’ effort in Saturday’s 38-10 win over No. 18 Tennessee was another example, as Georgia held the Volunteers to 277 total yards and just one touchdown for the second straight week.

“It’s just about preparation,” linebacker Smael Mondon said. “Everybody takes it real seriously, and everybody is prepared.”

Vols quarterback Joe Milton never had much of a chance.

Georgia held the senior to just 17 of 30 passing for 147 yards with no touchdowns.

Known for having one of the strongest arms in the SEC, Milton attempted three deep balls against the Bulldog secondary, but each one was knocked away.

"That's the difference in the game," Smart said. "I told Shock (DJ Shockley) that. I told them before the game, on defense 40 percent of the game is can we destroy blockers and tackle the back. The other 40 percent is, can we play with our back to the ball. Because they're going to get your back to the ball, and you're going to have to make a play. If you win about 66 percent, you're good. I feel like we had 3 times and we won 3. If you go two out of three, you probably do OK. That's what it boils down to when you play them. You have to play with your back to the ball, and you have to stop the run."

There wasn’t a lot happening there, either.

After Jaylen Wright ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run on the game’s first play, the Vols’ ground attack was never heard from again.

Tennessee entered the fourth quarter with just 55 additional rushing yards after that.

“I talked to (Glenn) Schumann before the game; just let them score so we can get this over with,” Smart said. “So, we’ve consistently found a way to let them score first, have great first drives. We probably got a little aggressive there and didn’t fit a play right. Historically, Georgia does not give up explosive runs. We have a great secondary that leverages the ball; we take a lot of pride in that so when the ball breaks out, we’re going to get it before it gets 20. Today, that didn’t happen.”

While the quick score did not sit well, Mondon said he was proud of the way the defense responded.

“Nobody flinched. Nobody let it snowball,” Mondon said. “Nobody let it become a bigger problem. We got the adjustments and were able to them down.”