NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Much was made of what Georgia coaches and players referred to all preseason as “havoc rate."
To define it simply, it’s positive plays by the defense. For example, sacks, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, pressuring the quarterback, and pass breakups.The total number of plays that cause “havoc,” divided by total plays, gives the havoc rate. The team wants to attain at least a 20 percent havoc rate for every game.
Against Vanderbilt, Georgia’s defense looked like one of the more athletic groups to come through the program in a long time, but what did they do in terms of “havoc rate"?
In total, the Georgia defense had three tackles for loss, including two sacks, and two pass breakups. Although the Bulldogs recovered a fumble, they didn't force any. Therefore, out of 62 offensive plays by the Commodores, UGA created “havoc” on five of them, which equates to an 8 percent havoc rate.
When asked about the defense’s performance as well as the havoc rate, head coach Kirby Smart was happy with the results.
“I thought we had havoc tonight,” Smart said. “I don't know what our rate was. I'll have to wait and see what our numbers were. Between batted balls, between the sacks, the attacking of the ball, I thought they played really good in regards to that.”
Junior inside linebacker Monty Rice co-led the team in tackles alongside Mark Webb with seven on the night. When asked how he thought the defense performed, Rice gave a candid response.
“I think we did all right; it wasn’t our best,” said Rice. “Being out there for the first time, we had the jitters. Even me. I’m happy the guys gave all they had. I’m proud of how everybody fought today. We didn’t give up a touchdown, and that’s good. But we did let them get into the red area. We gave them a lot. Undisciplined penalties, late hits out of bounds, a couple of face masks. We just have to eliminate that. As we go down the road, we can’t have those undisciplined penalties.”
Redshirt freshman outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari was also happy with the defense’s showing.
“I liked how they didn’t score any touchdowns. I saw a physical, hardworking, and full of effort team this fall camp, and we came out here and showed it. I’m confident in our defense," Ojulari said. "Our defense is great.”
Georgia’s defense got into a rhythm at the start of the second half, causing Vanderbilt to punt on four straight possessions. Smart was happy with the play, but said there is still some more to clean up.
"I didn't realize we had four straight three-and-outs on defense. I thought the momentum swung a little bit. Guys started playing a little more aggressive, a little more comfortable. We affected the quarterback on a couple of those where we got to him," Smart said. "We can have a good defense, because we've got a lot of speed. We need some more activity up there in the front. We need to make some more tackles. We need to stay off people's facemasks because we basically gave them 45 yards and two field goals on undisciplined penalties."
Holding a Vanderbilt offense that is in possession of three dangerous targets like Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Kalija Lipscomb, and Jared Pinkney to just two field goals was surprising to Smart.
“I think those three players, if you had told me we'd hold them without a touchdown--because Lipscomb's been here forever, Pinkney is ferocious, and the back is really good. I know from how we played them last year," Smart said. "We struggled last year, so to be able to control these guys was good. Now they didn't have the quarterback, and that makes a difference, the guy that gets the ball to them. But they have a good team offensively with those three guys."
Ojulari was happy with the win and is looking forward to securing another victory against Murray State on Saturday.
“We just want to go 1-0 every week and do what we’re coached to do," he said.
