ATHENS — When it comes to defining a successful pass rush, there are a lot of different metrics one could use. Sacks, pressures, quarterback hits, average time to throw.
Kirby Smart prefers not to rely on statistics when it comes to assessing how Georgia’s pass rush has done to this point.
“We dictate off the offense what they do, and I’m pleased with our rushers,” Smart said. “Our best rushers have been rushing well when they’re out there, and I hope that we can affect the quarterback in some kind of way to impact the game regardless of which week that is.”
But perhaps Georgia’s pass rusher, Mykel Williams, hasn’t been out there all that much. He’s played just 17 snaps the past two weeks as he continues to recover from an ankle injury against Clemson. While he’s been a factor in the run game, Williams has not yet notched a sack on the season.
Sacks aren’t always the best way to define a pass rush, but it’s telling that as Georgia’s defense has come undone in recent weeks, the Bulldogs have zero sacks in two of the last three games.
Now, the Bulldogs have to face a Texas offensive line that ranks among the best in the country.
“The trenches improved every year and they’re for real in the trenches,” Smart said. “They’ve got really good players and they’re built like an SEC team, and it’s hard to prepare for him because he knows what he’s doing offensively.”
Texas’ best offensive lineman is left tackle Kelvin Banks. He might be the top tackle prospect in the country when it comes to the 2025 NFL Draft.
A matchup with Williams would likely have NFL scouts salivating.
But the ankle injury that Williams picked up against Clemson to open the season has limited him to just 42 snaps in the last five Georgia games.
Georgia has been able to play Williams the past three weeks, but Williams hasn’t been able to give much in practice. His usage has been limited largely to just what he can do on Saturday.
“He looked better to me during the week this past week so what we were able to do Auburn game was get him better to Mississippi State,” Smart said. “Now we’ve gotten another week under our belt and we’re hoping that he’s healthy and full and ready to go. I don’t know that until we get out there. I don’t get a great evaluation during the week because he’s only been able to do some of the work.”
On the season, only Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins has more than 2.0 sacks. The 11.0 team sacks rank 78th in the country in sacks per game.
To Smart’s point about getting meaningful pressure, opponents only convert on 32.89 percent of their third down attempts. That’s good for 32nd in the country.
Which make third-down penalties like the ones Georgia had against Mississippi State all the more critical. Three different times Georgia had Mississippi State stopped on third down, only for a penalty to extend a Mississippi State drive.
Sacks instead of penalties would go a long way in helping this Georgia defense.
“It was stupid,” Wilson said of his penalty on Saturday. “I should have just let off. I thought I was closer than what I was. I’m not gonna say what I think, but it was dumb play. I should have just veered off, went away.”
There’s been plenty of people trying to diagnosis what has been wrong with Georgia’s defense of late. And there are a multitude of issues. Georgia lost too many 50-50 balls in the secondary. The linebackers struggled to cover. The tackling hasn’t been up to the standard.
But in two games where the opponent has topped 30 points, Georgia has combined for zero sacks.
“I think we’re just lacking energy and just staying alive the whole game,” Wilson said. “I think we can let the score dictate our emotions and how we feel. I think we gotta come out with a Georgia mentality that is 0-0 all game. And at the end of the game, we gotta finish with our best. And if we don’t finish with our best, it’s not our standard.”
Georgia hasn’t gotten the version of Williams it thought it would be getting at the start of the season. The Georgia edge defender looked like an absolute force in the win over Clemson. But the ankle injury he suffered has held him back, and the Georgia defense has understandably suffered without him.
Saturday represents another big test for this Georgia defense. The Longhorns rank seventh in the country in points per game and 11th in yards per play.
The group is going to have to play much better. Getting more from Williams and the pass rush would be a start, but the whole defense knows it’s a collaborative effort at this point.
“I think everything right now for us is on us,” Wilson said. “I think we control our destiny. We control if we beat a team 50-0 or 44-45, it’s on us.”
