When Clemson quarterback Cole Stoudt led the Tigers down the field on a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to open the game Saturday, it had to have creeped into the minds of Bulldog fans from Athens to Atlanta, Savannah to Albany.

“We don’t look any better.”

Chad Morris’s offense, led by Stoudt and Gainesville, Ga. native Deshaun Watson, sliced-and-diced its way down the field during the first half.  The Tigers put 21 points on the board on 54 plays and 276 yards.  The Clemson offensive line opened holes for the run game, and Georgia’s youthful secondary showed its inexperience taking bad angles, not communicating well, missing open field tackles and guessing on some passes that gave the Tigers big gains.

After believing all offseason that new coordinator and defensive backs coach Jeremy Pruitt was the key to success and potential as a top-tier unit in the SEC, all 92,745 in Athens had to questioning what they had witnessed heading into halftime.

“Here we go again.”

Then Todd Gurley housed a kickoff 100 yards.  Then redshirt freshman Aaron Davis intercepted a Clemson pass.  Then the Tigers’ kicker Ammon Lakip missed a field goal with less than a minute to go before the break, which proved to be a huge momentum shifter.

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Then, after the break, Pruitt and his defense dialed it up.  It was 30 minutes of play we never saw from the Georgia defense at any point in Todd Grantham’s tenure between the hedges.

Clemson did not find the end zone the rest of the game, and put up just 15 yards of total offense.  The Tigers’ final three drives of the game posted yardage totals of -3 yards, -6 yards and -15 yards.

But is it too early to get excited about the potential of this Bulldog defense?

Clemson was a respectable opening opponent.  However, this offense is not the top-10 offense we’ve come to know under Morris.  The Tigers were replacing a 1,000 yard passer, 1,000 rusher and 1,000 yard receiver.  It was Stoudt’s first start, and the skill position players lacked game experience.  Clemson’s a good team, but they’re no SEC team.

Yet the ‘Dawgs still struggled early and needed to make adjustments against the Tigers’ offense.  Clemson was never able to get anything going on the ground, rushing for just 88 yards.  Georgia took advantage of the lack of running game midway through the second quarter on, dialing up blitzes with regularity.  Pruitt mixed blitzes from corners and linebackers with the three man front.

The Bulldogs still have to face some very good offenses in Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky.  Once Georgia weaves the stretch of its SEC schedule, we’ll know a lot more about this young defensive unit.

But there are a few reasons to be excited about the upside.

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We heard reports of players dropping weight and getting stronger and faster and that was noticeably visible Saturday night against Clemson.  Even as they were weaving bumps in the road early, the Bulldog defense played with intensity and purpose, yet maintained sound fundamentals.  They knew the proper play calls, and were able to audible out of a call smoothly.

Pruitt saw Clemson was struggling to run the ball, and he went for the kill.  He disguised blitz packages, ran stunts and gave the Tigers’ quarterbacks no time to throw the ball.

For the first time in a long time, you can see the potential of this unit to be tops in the league and among the best in the nation.  There will be hurdles.  Mistakes will continue to be made.

Pruitt will have a plan, and will put his guys in a position to limit the damage.

Yes, it’s just game one.  But Pruitt is an excellent teacher and one of the best defensive minds in the country.  And his guy’s are buying in.  You can believe in that.