JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Even if it wasn’t a perfect performance from the Georgia defense, their spirits were pretty positive after the 42-20 win over Florida.
The return of Jalen Carter had something to do with that.
“It felt pretty good having JC out there,” linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson said. “He set the tone for that D line. He impacts games different.”
Carter didn’t play in the last two games due to an MCL injury. Those who watched the game could easily see his impact. Georgia largely limited him to a pass-rushing role on third down. Carter didn’t have a takedown of Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson but that wasn’t just a Carter problem.
Georgia finished the game with 3.0 sacks, but two of those came on the final drive when the Bulldogs were already up 42-20. More often than not, Georgia was able to pressure Richardson off his spot, as he completed 18 of his 37 pass attempts on the afternoon for 271 yards. He did throw a touchdown to Xzavier Henderson for 78-yards.
“I feel like we pressured them a lot,” Dumas-Johnson said. “We didn’t get a lot of sacks but they didn’t get a lot of completions on us because we were bringing the pressure a little more than we did usually.”
Senior safety Chris Smith had one of the sacks on the afternoon, while Mykel Williams and Chaz Chambliss each added one at the end of the game.
Chambliss saw an uptick in snaps as Nolan Smith exited the game with a separated shoulder. His absence makes Carter’s return all the more pivotal.
“It was great that he fought himself to get back. He rehabbed himself to get back. He wanted to play,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “He loves this team. It’s important to him. In a day and age where some kids don’t care about the team. He cares about the team. He wanted to play. He took on the role we wanted him to take on and hopefully he continues to get healthy.
“Look, we need him. We’re missing some guys in depth on the front. As we play more snaps, we struggle and it showed in the second half there.”
Related: Georgia football instant observations as Bulldogs best Florida, even with sub-par third quarter
Florida scored on three consecutive drives to open the second half, turning a 28-3 game into a 28-20 game. Two of those scores came after turnovers but Smart still wasn’t happy. The Gators finished 371 total yards of offense
After perhaps its best defensive performance half of the season in which Florida had four straight three-and-outs to start the game, Smart said the second half was as bad as Georgia has played all season.
“At the end of the day. We ain’t going to finish all the time,” Dumas-Johnson said. “We would like that but like ain’t like that. Football ain’t like that.”
Smart wasn’t optimistic Georgia would have Carter on the field during the middle of the week. That Georgia got as many snaps out of him as it did is a big win for the Bulldogs.
Especially with the game against Tennessee looming next week.
“He told us he felt good in warmups. We tried not to put him in a pounding situation but they pound all the time,” Smart said. “It was third down and we knew there was a threat they would run it. I got to watch the tape because I don’t know if he made any plays but his snap volume was huge for Naz and Zion on first and second down.”
Jamon Dumas-Johnson glad to have Jalen Carter back: ‘He impacts games different’
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