CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Georgia coach Kirby Smart allowed himself to take in the moment, jumping up on the team bench and swinging his visor wildly toward the crowd in celebration of what could prove to be a keystone victory over Clemson.

The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs took down the No. 3-ranked Tigers in a 10-3 slugfest win that a defensive-minded coach like Smart will hold near to his heart.

“It reminded me of a playoff or conference championship-type atmosphere,” Smart said Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium after his No. 5-ranked Bulldogs upset No. 3-ranked Clemson. “It was electric.

“We all missed that kind of atmosphere, and it was special for our players to play in.”

Georgia senior safety Christoper Smith turned in the play of the game, baiting quarterback D.J. Uiagaleiei by disguising his pass coverage before breaking on the pass for a 74-yard Pick-6 interception return.

“We had been working that play all week, trying to perfect our disguise on that play,” Smith said. “I showed outside (leverage) and broke inside, and the rest was history.”

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The Bulldogs’ defense harassed Uiagalelei all night, sacking him seven times as he finished 19-of-37 passing for 178 yards with an interception.

Georgia turned the Tigers one-dimensional with air-tight gap control and power along the front line that erased the Clemson run game to the tune of 2 yards on 23 attempts.

“We held the line, played to our standard, and just really proud of the guys and how hard they played,” Smart said. “It seems like we’re more athletic up there than we’ve been in the past.”

Georgia out-gained Clemson 256-180, dealing with some offensive struggles of its own.

JT Daniels was a modest 22-of-30 passing for 135 yards and an interception of his own.

Ultimately, it was the Bulldogs ground game coming through in the clutch, running out the final 4:49 after the defense turned the Tigers over on downs at the UGA 45.

Nine straight run plays, including three third-down conversion runs -- including a bullish 10-yard run by Zamir White that essentially sealed the game -- led to Daniels taking a knee and sealing a victory that lifted Smart’s record to 5-0 against non-conference Top 10 teams.

“What I did find out is that when we got to go four-minute (offense), and we have to grind out first downs, we can do that,” Smart said. “But you have to score points to win games, and we know that.

“We have a long way to go to be explosive and get to where we need to be offensively. ”

Smart revealed how injuries affected his receiving corps in fall camp, with receiver Kearis Jackson and tight end John FitzPatrick questionable coming into the night, and Jermaine Burton looking rusty after missing two weeks of practice

“You add all that up, there was a lot of parts missing,” Smart said. “I’m not using that as an excuse.

“But they played a soft zone and they didn’t give us many shots.”

It turned out Smart and his Bulldogs wouldn’t need them.