COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Georgia defense zeroed in on South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattled on Saturday with devastating efficiency.

“We had a thing called ‘Rattle Rattler,” so we rattled him, we were able to contain him,” middle linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson said following Georgia’s 48-7 win over the Gamecocks.

“We wanted to play him the same way we played Bo (Nix), make him play for us, things of that nature,” he said. “Don’t let him get outside; we know he has a big arm, don’t let him make those big plays.”

Rattler struck deep only once, connecting on a 46-yard pass to Jaheim Bell with Georgia up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

Two plays later, however, the Bulldogs plan to make Rattler “play for us” was achieved when safety Malaki Starks stepped in front of a pass and returned it 42 yards to South Carolina 43 to set up Georgia’s second touchdown.

The talented Rattler, at one point a leading Heisman Trophy candidate at Oklahoma struggled throughout the day, 13-of-25 passing for 118 yards with two interceptions.

This, after Rattler put on an aerial display last Saturday (24-39, 376 yards) that kept the Gamecocks contending with Arkansas before falling 44-30.

“We just wanted to continue to keep our eyes on the receivers, get hands on them, and just try to knock off their timing with Spencer Rattler,” Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo said.

“We knew our rush would get there at the end of the day, and we just tried to work with each other.”

The Bulldogs didn’t get any sacks, but they had 9 QB hurries and prevented Rattler from using his feet to do any damage, as he had two carries for 8 yards.

“We have five musts every week that we must do on defense, and that was one of them,” Georgia outside linebacker Nolan Smith said. “I thought we rattled him pretty good, and I’ve got to think the other D-Linemen for that.

“We rushed as a unit, and you have to keep the quarterback in the trap.”

Georgia coach Kirby Smart, of course, pointed out the completions that went for 26 and 46 yards before acknowledging his defense’s elite performance.

“The shots they took, the plays they made, we’ve got to get better,” Smart said. “But if you disrupt the quarterback’s rhythm and don’t allow them to run the ball, which so far, we’ve been hard to run the ball on, it makes people one-dimensional.”