Dogs’ defense steps up in win over Auburn

Auburn, Ala. — At a players-only meeting early in the week, Georgia’s beleaguered defense set three goals for Saturday’s game:

• Shut out Auburn.

• Hold the Tigers to less than 100 yards rushing.

• And “play hard, play fast,” as tackle Corvey Irvin put it.

The Georgia defense fell short on two-thirds of that ambitious trifecta, but fared much better than in recent weeks as the Bulldogs beat Auburn 17-13 Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

After drawing intense criticism for allowing 38 or more points in three consecutive games, the defense felt pretty good about itself after holding Auburn to two touchdowns and stopping a potential game-winning drive at the Georgia 14-yard line in the final seconds.

“They got 13 points and we wanted to hold them to zero, but we’re satisfied,” Irvin said. “We wanted no more of that 38-point stuff.”

Auburn had 124 yards rushing, more than the Georgia defense’s goal of less than 100 but an improvement from the 226 allowed to Kentucky the week before.

And while Auburn’s offense — among the worst in the nation statistically — surely was a contributing factor, Georgia’s defenders said they played with more energy and speed.

“The body language and intensity out there was better,” cornerback Asher Allen said.

The defense had little margin for error in a game in which Georgia again hurt itself with penalties (nine for 95 yards), red-zone problems on offense (one touchdown in three chances) and miscues on special teams (a fumbled punt and a blocked field goal).

The result was a game that went down to the wire — Auburn driving down the field in the final minute and Georgia clinging desperately to a four-point lead that would have been three points if the Tigers hadn’t missed an extra point after their first touchdown.

With that extra point, the Tigers could have attempted a field goal at the end to send the game into overtime. But without it, they had to go for a winning touchdown, which Georgia’s defense was able to deny.

“It was big for the defense to put them away at the end,” Georgia linebacker Darryl Gamble said. “We tried to do better today, tried to be together as one.”

Georgia took a 17-13 lead on a 17-yard laser of a pass from Matthew Stafford to a leaping and stretching A.J. Green with 8:24 to play.

Later, Auburn drove down the field, helped by a pass-interference penalty against Allen that put the ball at the Georgia 23.

It came down to this: Seven seconds to play. Auburn at the Georgia 14. Fourth down.

Tigers quarterback Kodi Burns, pressured by Bulldogs defensive end Justin Houston, flung a pass toward the right corner of the end zone. It was intended for Ben Tate, who was well defended by Rennie Curran. It was incomplete.

“We played a lot of [man-to-man coverage] at the end,” defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said. “You’re putting guys on an island and they’ve got to make plays, and I thought they really stepped up.”

On Auburn’s next-to-last drive, the Georgia defense also came up with a big stop on a fourth-and-3 incompletion at the Bulldogs 21.

“We put [the defense] on the spot to finish the game and get stops at the very end,” coach Mark Richt said, “and they did it. I’m very proud of Coach Martinez and all of those guys.”

Asked if the Dogs (9-2) dodged a bullet, Richt said: “Sure we did. I don’t mind dodging bullets.

“Both teams played well enough to win, and both teams, I guess you could say, made enough mistakes to lose,” Richt said. “It wasn’t the prettiest game ever played.”

But the defense embraced it as a thing of beauty compared to the three previous games.

“We’ve been getting criticized the last few weeks — people saying we can’t stop the run and Coach Martinez this and that,” Irvin said.

Irvin said he reminded his teammates just before they took the field of the three goals set in Monday’s players meeting. And there’s more to come, he said.

“We’ll watch the film and set some more goals.”