After getting manhandled by Ole Miss last week in Oxford, Georgia’s offensive line came into Saturday night’s game against No. 7 Tennessee with a lot to prove.

Against a Tennessee defensive front being hailed as one of the best in the SEC, Georgia’s offensive front not only held its own but won the night for the Bulldogs, giving Carson Beck all the time he needed to play arguably his most complete game of the year.

“Those guys, they took a lot of criticism from people and really unwarranted in my opinion,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “It’s funny when you talk to people that actually know football, they know how hard it is to play in that environment (Ole Miss). Then you get people who go, oh, they gave up sacks, or they couldn’t do this and they couldn’t do that. When you get behind in a game, it makes it hard. Tonight, they played aggressively and played well.”

Last week against Ole Miss, the Bulldogs’ offensive line struggled, allowing five sacks with Carson Beck being harassed throughout the game.

The Vols did not enjoy the same success.

Georgia did not allow a single sack of Beck, who completed 25 of 40 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions. He also rushed for a 10-yard score.

“Last week wasn't the standard. That's just not how we wanted it; we didn’t want to be remembered like that,” center Jared Wilson said. “Giving up what, five, six sacks I think it was, something like that. It just wasn't our standard and this week we came out and showed who we are.”

Wilson said the entire group took it upon itself to make that happen.

“Yeah, I think just starting five and the two backers behind us, the six and the seven are, I think we're just so connected and so close that I think it was just a mutual understanding that hey, we all know that that wasn't it and we all got to come with a different chip on our shoulder this week and that's it,” said Wilson. “Carson played a tremendous game. He was extremely poised.”

Give left tackle Monroe Freeling, left guard Dylan Fairchild, Wilson, right guard Tate Ratledge, and right tackle Xavier Truss a lot of credit.

Unlike previous games, the Bulldogs did not rotate at all, with the entire starting five playing the entire game. Freeling was making his first career start in place of Earnest Greene III, who has battled a myriad of injuries in recent weeks.

“It's probably the first game that we haven't subbed an offensive lineman the whole time. We were concerned about that because we didn't know how Tate would hold up. And that game meant a lot to Tate,” Smart said. “You know, Tate grew up in a Tennessee family. His dad was a Tennessee fan. That game was a lot of pride to him. And I thought his energy and toughness really showed. Just a week ago, you know, he dinged it and couldn't go. Tonight, he went out there tonight and really played physical; played really tough.”

Tight end Oscar Delp agreed.

“People don't understand the stuff that they go through and that we all go through every day. It’s a week-to-week thing. It's the SEC, it's the hardest conference in the country. You're going to be banged up if you're going to play,” Delp said. “It takes a lot of guts. They didn't rotate a bit tonight. I don't think I've ever seen that from an offensive line. We got some dogs, even though we’ve got some guys banged up. We’ve got people that can play.”