STARKVILLE — After Saturday’s game at Davis Wade Stadium, Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers kept it pretty simple when asked to evaluate Georgia’s defense.
“Uh, they have all, like, five-star players,” Rogers said. “They’re pretty good on defense.”
That’s an understatement, but Rogers’ reference to recruiting rankings was a fair assessment of what makes the country’s top team so good.
No. 1 Georgia (10-0, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) ranks in the top 20 both against the run and against the pass, and UGA flexed its might defensively against Mississippi State en route to a 45-19 result.
MSU coach Mike Leach called Georgia’s defense — which held MSU to 309 total yards and 12 offensive points — “kind of a vaunted group.”
That was perhaps even more so the case last year, when one of college football’s best-ever defenses led Georgia to the national championship.
The Bulldogs lost five defenders to the first round of the NFL draft, and defensive coordinator Dan Lanning left to coach Oregon.
Kirby Smart and Co. haven’t missed a beat.
“They’re a great defense, like I said,” Rogers commented after Saturday’s game. “I think they’re all like four- or five-stars, and they’re all really, really good at football — big, fast, physical, run to the ball very well. Every yard you get against them is earned.”
Georgia’s defensive talent made it hard for Mississippi State to finish drives all night.
MSU punted on three of its first four possessions, settled for two field goals in the red zone and turned the ball over on downs twice — once inside the UGA 20.
Leach said there was a “feel-out process” against the Georgia defense, but Smart’s team limited what MSU could do even after getting acclimated.
“They had a really good scheme for what we were doing, and it’s hard to finish drives on a good team,” Rogers said.
Rogers accounted for 261 of the Bulldogs’ total yards, completing 29 of 51 passes.
Once again, Mississippi State’s run game was limited, totaling 40 yards on 14 carries — not counting a sack.
Jo’quavious Marks had 41 yards on seven carries, while Dillon Johnson had just nine yards on six attempts.
Asked what Georgia was doing to stifle MSU’s run game, Rogers pointed to UGA’s “two top-15 picks” on the interior of its defense, including defensive tackle Jalen Carter.
“Those are some dang good athletes up front,” Rogers said.
Rogers acknowledged Mississippi State’s rushing struggles make it easier for opposing defenses to focus on the pass, which has always been the Bulldogs’ bread and butter under Leach
“It’s just tough in general,” Rogers said. “If people know you’re going to pass it, you’re one dimensional.”
Teams like Georgia are happy to exploit that.
Rogers praised Smart’s leadership and what UGA does best.
“They don’t do anything crazy on defense scheme-wise and things like that,” he said. “I think they just have good players, and they just execute the plan well.”
Mississippi State saw that firsthand Saturday night.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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