What does a defense need when it's allowing 1.5 points per game?
Georgia started its season allowing three points to Oregon, and followed that up with a shutout of Samford. Both the run defense and pass defense have been solid, and the Bulldogs have forced three turnovers so far.
So what's missing? For Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, the answer is some real adversity befalling his defense.
The need for adversity stems from all the players Georgia lost from last year's defense.
The new faces, from the defensive line to the secondary, don't have a ton of game experience under their belt. Smart wants to see how they respond when things begin going south in the heat of the moment.
"When you’re out there and the lights are all on you, some players kind of shy away from that," defensive back Javon Bullard said. "It becomes overwhelming at some point. You’ve just got to lock in with laser focus and key to your job. Everybody do their job and we’ll be pretty good."
Smart and his players preach about making practice harder than the game. That applies to putting the team in negative situations as well.
The defensive staff concocts all sorts of scenarios for the Bulldogs to face: get the ball back, two-minute situations, certain alerts. During this week, the staff is blaring crowd noise to prepare for the road environment at South Carolina.
"They turn it way up, they blast it in the indoor," inside linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson said. "We can’t even hear ourselves talk."
The road environment will be a new experience for many of the players on the defense. Smart said the team has been embracing the challenge of playing in a raucous stadium this week in practice.
The players will also have to be prepared for a South Carolina offense with talented receivers and a former Heisman Trophy contender quarterback in Spencer Rattler.
Rattler has the arm to make all the throws. He also possesses the athleticism to extend plays and get huge chunks of yardage that way. At some point during Saturday's contest, Rattler and the Gamecocks will have a big play or two.
Smart is doing his best to get his team prepared to handle that eventuality.
"Practice makes the games easier," Dumas-Johnson said. "If you make practice harder, Saturday should be easier."
