Kirby Smart Is Proving Defense Still Wins Championships: Part One

In today’s world of college football, all everyone wants to talk about is which program has the high-flying offense. Which programs offensive coordinator is the next guru? How many plays did they run? Offense. Offense. Offense.

And rightfully so, up-tempo spread offenses have taken over the game of football, and transformed players and teams, into high-scoring and winning juggernauts.

LSU with Joe Burrow. Alabama with their plethora of QB’s and WR’s. Even this year, Josh Huepel’s offense at Tennessee has turned Hendon Hooker into a Heisman candidate, and the Volunteers into a powerhouse once again.

The offensive explosion over the last 10 or so years in college football has also made me take a deep dive into what teams, if any, are shutting them down with their defense?

To find the answer, head on down to Athens, Georgia, where the reigning national champions have cracked the code to defensive success in 2022, thanks to Kirby Smart.

Kirby Smart is proving defense still wins championships

While Alabama and Nick Saban have always been known for having a stout defense, even when going up against more modern offenses, Smart and Georgia have become the new standard.

Earlier this year, the Crimson Tide, undefeated, were upset in Knoxville by Hooker and the Volunteers. Tennessee put up 52 points, the most Alabama had surrendered in over 100 years. Hooker threw for 385 yards and 5 touchdowns, as the Vols pulled off the historic upset.

Tennessee’s offense utilized their athletes getting in space, creating mismatches against defenders. The Volunteers ran their no-huddle attack throughout the game, and took shots downfield whenever possible.

Several weeks later, Tennessee, now ranked #1 and undefeated, traveled to Georgia to take on the Bulldogs, with its offense averaging 49.4 points per game heading into the matchup.

Georgia won easily, 27-13. Tennessee’s offense was held to 289 total yards on the day, and 3.9 yards per play.

So what did Kirby Smart and the UGA defense do to stop the Volunteers?

Where every offense in the country wants to make their offense vertical, Georgia’s defense makes you go horizontal. The Dawgs have the personnel advantage that many programs in college football do not have.

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Because of that advantage, there’s a lot of trust on the Georgia defense. The Bulldogs corners locked in on the Vols WR’s in man-to-man coverage, trusting that the pass rushers would do their job. And they did, as Hooker was sacked six times.

Majority of defenses nowadays wouldn’t send a heavy blitz package when going up against an offense like Tennessee’s, but that’s where Smart and Georgia are different.

Smart and the Georgia coaches have recruited in a way where they don’t only have the biggest guys on defense, but the fastest as well. If you watch their game against Tennessee, it doesn’t matter if it’s a cornerback or a linebacker, Georgia’s speed on defense matches up with the skill players on offense.

The defense is littered with 5-star talents, 4-star players who’ve been developed in the Georgia system, and now it’s not even about schemes and x’s and o’s, it’s about doing your job and trusting in your talent. They’ve also done a great job at developing 3-star recruits into high caliber players.

Georgia lost 8 defensive players who were on the 2021 championship team, and some wondered if that side of the ball would have some drop off. So far, the 2022 defense is giving up 11.3 points per game, and have allowed over 350 yards of total offense once all season.

I’ll talk about the personnel that Kirby Smart uses on defense, and everything else in part two of the article.