georgia kirby smart tennessee

ATHENS — Kirby Smart and his Georgia football coaching staff echoed one another throughout the week, at each turn, in each practice.

Stick with the plan.

It was going to be the only way to stop a Tennessee offense that no other team had managed to slow down, much less beat entering into Saturday’s action.

The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs flipped that script, scoring a 27-13 win over the Vols by holding Josh Heupel’s team out of the end zone until late in the fourth quarter, after the game had been decided.

“They bought into this plan, every coach, all five coaches on defense, went over the exact plan every day,” said Smart, now 15-7 against Top 10 teams with a 5-0 home mark in such games.

“This is what we’re doing, this is how we’re doing it,” he said. “We’re going to keep it simple, we’re gonna line up fast, we’re gonna strike blockers, we’re gonna keep the ball in front of us, we’re not going to let them get explosives, we’re going to affect the quarterback and we’re going to buy into it.”

The Georgia defense left no doubt, sacking Hendon Hooker six times, harassing the Heisman Trophy candidate into a 23-of-33 passing performance that netted 195 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.

The Bulldogs built a 24-6 halftime lead, spotting the Vols their only points through the first two quarters after Tennessee fell on a Daijun Edwards fumble and drove 17 yards to get in field goal range.

Smart’s plan relied on cornerbacks to win one-on-one battles on the perimeter and defensive linemen to push the pocket back into Hooker.

Georgia forced the Vols to punt on their second, third and fourth possessions, managing another first-half field goal to head to intermission down 24-6.

“You play Tennessee, they go for the knockout blow in the first round,” Smart said. “You’ve got to survive it.”

A Sanford Stadium crowd that reached noise levels of more than 130 decibels provided what Smart called “an incredible environment,” leading to seven false start penalties on Tennessee.

Rain fell throughout most of the second half, making things even more challenging for the Vols’ struggling offense.

Georgia freshman safety Malaki Starks led the Bulldogs with 10 tackles, while defensive back Javon Bullard had 7 tackles and a team-high 2 sacks.

Smart said he was also proud of quarterback Stetson Bennett and the offense.

Bennett was 17-of-25 passing for 257 yards and two touchdowns as Georgia outgained Tennessee 387-289 while matching the Vols with two turnovers.

“I think physical toughness won out,” Smart said. “We talked all week about hunting with a purpose.

“It was great for the players to hear it and buy-in.”