Returning 11 of its top 14 tacklers from a unit which ranked in the FBS’ top 10 in five defensive categories last year, Georgia’s defense was expected to excel in 2020—really excel.

Yet, after admirable performances in a trio of games to begin the season, the Bulldog defenders, especially when defending the pass, have drastically faltered in three of their last four contests. Granted, the unit has been injury-plagued of late. Nevertheless, injuries cannot fully explain Georgia’s poor pass defense against Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi State, whereby the three teams combined to complete more than 74 percent of their passes against the Bulldogs for an average of 409 yards per game, nine touchdowns and only two interceptions.

Struggles defending the pass were especially evident last Saturday in Athens against Mississippi State, which had been stagnant on offense for an entire month. Narrowly losing to Georgia, 31-24, the visiting Bulldogs passed for 336 yards on a staggering 41 completions.

"It was a good team win [over MSU], but there's always something we need to work on or get better at,” said junior inside linebacker Channing Tindall when asked about the defense’s performance against Mississippi State. “That game we did play a little [inadequately], but now we have to focus on this week and what [South Carolina] has to offer."

Entering this Saturday’s game in his hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, Tindall is coming off a defensive performance that included three tackles and a quarterback pressure. However, he did yield three receptions in pass coverage after allowing just one completion in Georgia’s first six games of the season.

Some Bulldog defenders are unsure as to why they've struggled recently—yet they are certain it’s not for a lack of effort.

“I’m not really sure,” said fellow defender Jermaine Johnson when asked for his “takeaway” from this year’s defense. “But, we go out there and practice hard for the team we have to play. We try to go out there and execute our plan.”

Coming away with a sack in each of Georgia’s last four games, Johnson has been a bright spot on defense during the unit’s recent lapse. Still, the senior outside linebacker has struggled against the pass this season. Of the 20 Bulldog defenders who’ve seen at least a dozen “coverage” snaps this year, Johnson’s coverage grade of 44.4 (Pro Football Focus) is the worst of the bunch.

Johnson and company will try to improve their performances, starting with the Gamecocks, followed by Vanderbilt, and a possible makeup game with Missouri—all three teams currently rank no better than 87th in the FBS in total offense. Of course, Mississippi State entered last week having averaged only 10 points and 229 total yards in its past four games—totals it accumulated by the second quarter of its game with Georgia.

“We know what the problem is. It's just a matter of time before we fix it and are all on the same page,” Tindall said. “Everyone needs to find what they need to do within themselves. Once we're all on the same page, things will turn around for us."

Notably, when Tindall was asked in what regard the defenders weren't on the same page, he explained that, although the defenders are aware of what they “have to do,” the actual “progression of doing it,” while making sure “everybody is doing their job,” has hindered the unit. Regardless, despite not being on the same page at times, the Georgia defenders remain confident that their dilemmas are fixable.

“I just think we’ve fallen short in a couple of areas,” Johnson said. “We just got to come out the next week and fix that.”