<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4CXkTI_0vkRrxi100" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4CXkTI_0vkRrxi100" width="1210" height="806" ></figure>Through three games, it’s kind of hard to get a true read on just how good UGA’s defense actually is. On one hand, they’re giving up a ridiculously low 6 points per game and only 91 passing yards per contest, and they’ve yet to allow a touchdown. On the other... They’ve played Clemson, Tennessee Tech, and Kentucky. The Tigers had a pretty horrible offense last year, and were then shut out by UGA in the opener outside of a field goal... And Kentucky is... Well, Kentucky. For comparison, Alabama’s defense is right on their heels at 8.7 points per game, an 115 passing yards, and the Tide is slightly ahead in only giving up 3.4 yards per play to UGA’s 3.5. And I know Alabama fans are worried about the defense still.Essentially - the sample size is still tiny, and we won’t really know until the Bulldogs square off against Alabama and then roll into the bulk of the SEC play. Little has changed over the years for the Dogs here, as Kirby Smart is still the architecht of the defense, and Glenn Schumann remains the defensive coordinator - and the pair both learned under Nick Saban and took their version of that defense to Athens. My preview from last December:<blockquote>With Glenn Schumann returning for his 5th year as defensive coordinator after starting his career at Alabama under Nick Saban and Kirby Smart and then following Smart to Georgia, Schumann is a true disciple of Saban and Smart with no other influences to his defensive scheme. It is a 3-4 defense in the same mold of Alabama back before 2016 that typically operates more as a 3-3-5 in nickel than a 4-2-5, like how Saban runs the defense at Alabama these days. </blockquote>UGA lost three major players to the NFL from their 2023 secondary in cornerback Kamari Lassiter, nickel Tykee Smith, and safety Javon Bullard. Outside of that, though, they return most all of the defense from last season. Nazir Stackhouse is still the big nose tackle who wrecks offensive lines and allows everyone else to chase ball carriers, and defensive end Mykel Williams is back for another year as a starter and had 4.5 sacks. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins is a terror in his own right as an oversized defensive end and a rotational juice-bringer. At linebacker, Smael Mondon is the speedy former 5-star that has never quite lived up to his recruiting status, but is still a multi-year starter and a competent SEC linebacker. Chazz Chambliss is the starting Jack linebacker, but has yet to record a sack in two seasons as a starter so far. The secondary is interesting. Malaki Starks is the best safety in college football, and it’s not particularly close in my opinion. But past that, there’s a lot of uncertainty. Daylen Everette was a starter at corner last year that had his ups and downs. The new Star is Joenel Aguero, who played a decent role for UGA last year as a true freshman and looks like a budding star player. Corner Julian Humphrey is a complete unknown, and senior safety Dan Jackson is a career backup that seems to have been thrust into the starting job by default. The UGA defense is the best in the country at rallying to ball carriers and preventing YAC. You will not run horizontally on them, and a short passing game is doomed to fail. They often run a single-high safety to really allow Starks to break on underneath routes and plays to the flats. Meanwhile, the defense line is phenomenal at drawing stalemates and giving Mondon and the other linebackers space to chase the ball. With those strengths, though, they also have a few areas that can be exploited. Their pass rush was abysmal last season and thus far hasn’t shown any real breakthroughs this year without sending A-gap linebacker blitzes. And with their safeties’ penchant for wanting to attack downhill, their corners can get isolated down the field pretty often. Everette can hold his own.... but can Humphrey?Finally, Kentucky also proved to be able to run directly up the gut against them. Outlier? Probably. But it happened, and is something Alabama is definitely going to be looking at. For the Tide, giving Jalen Milroe time in the pocket is often a death knell for opponents - he can easily be pressured into inefficient scrambles... But when given time, Milroe can shred a defense down the field more than any QB in recent memory. Alabama’s rushing game approach will be interesting to see, as the Tide has loved getting Jam Miller on inside gap duo or counter runs. Can that exploit UGA’s interior rush defense, or will their linebackers and defensive ends be fast enough to crash behind the pulling linemen? And, of course, there’s Milroe’s legs. A year ago, the Dogs mostly kept him in check when he tried to scramble.... Until the final drive. On paper, it seems this game is likely to play out much the same, with the difference being that UGA’s cornerback room is more shaky and I think ripe for giving up a couple more explosive downfield passes than a year ago. We’ll go with 28 points for the Tide - four touchdowns. </div></body>

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Alabama Football 2024 Preview: What you need to know about the Georgia Bulldogs’ Defense

Through three games, it’s kind of hard to get a true read on just how good UGA’s defense actually is. On one hand, they’re giving up a ridiculously low 6 points per game and only 91 passing yards per contest, and they’ve yet to allow a touchdown.