Grade Report: UGA Defense Continues to Stack Performances

The defensive grades are in from Georgia's win over Kentucky.

Author:
Jonathan Williams
Nov 20, 2022 10:50 AM EST

Georgia fought to win on the road against Kentucky by a score of 16-6. The defense showed up yet again for Georgia and after yesterday's contest, they are allowing just 11 points per game this season. For context, they allowed 10.2 per game last season.

The Bulldogs carried a shutout all the way into the fourth quarter until Kentucky finally got into the endzone after finding some success through the air. Outside of that one score, it was another shutdown type of performance from the defense and they have continued to stack up one impressive performance after another throughout the entire season.

So after Georgia's win against Kentucky, here is how the defense graded out:

Defensive Line: A

Kentucky averaged just 3.6 yards on the ground on 25 attempts for a total of 89 yards. Twenty-six of those yards came from quarterback Will Levis. The Bulldogs are now allowing just an average of 83 rushing yards per game which ranks third in the nation. Nazir Stackhouse and Jalen Carter led the front line in tackles with five each and Mykel Williams had one of Georgia's five tackles for loss. Another stimy performance from the Bulldog's defensive line.

Linebackers: A+

Another gameday and another great performance from Georgia's linebackers. The second line of defense got after it against Kentucky and Smael Mondon led the team in tackles with 11, a career-high for him as well. Jamon Dumas-Johnson racked up eight tackles himself and got in the backfield to make a tackle for loss during the game as well. Georgia's one sack on the day came at the hands of Robert Beal Jr. who assisted Javon Bullard on the play.

Kentucky failed to really get anything going on offense against Georgia and a lot of that had to do with how Georgia's linebackers continued to fly all over the field and make plays.

Secondary: A

Georgia's secondary played a really solid game against Kentucky outside of a few plays. Safety Christopher Smith allowed a receiver to get behind him on one play which Kentucky was able to take advantage of. Kamari Lassiter also had a rough second half that brought some offensive success to Kentucky. As for the rest of the game, the secondary clamped up like they have all season and Kelee Ringo added another interception to his season tally.

After yesterday's performance, Georgia's secondary ranks inside the top 20 for passing yards allowed this season and is second amongst all SEC teams only behind Texas A&M.