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Paul Finebaum says Georgia’s defense only deserves ‘some credit’ for Clemson win
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No. 5 Georgia’s defense was utterly dominant in its 10-3 win against No. 3 Clemson on Saturday night in what was the marquee match-up of the first full Saturday of the 2021 season.
The Bulldogs held the Tigers to just 2 rushing yards and 180 total yards, and they sacked Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei 7 times.
While Kirby Smart’s defense looked fast and physical, which is what the Georgia head coach was expecting, at least one observer felt that Clemson’s deficiencies on offense played as large a role in the outcome as the Bulldogs defense.
Speaking on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Sunday morning, ESPN commentator and noted radio personality Paul Finebaum said he thinks the Tigers have major issues on the offensive side of the ball and especially in the trenches.
“I think it said a lot about Clemson’s offense,” Finebaum said of Georgia’s 10-3 victory. “They have serious offensive line problems, as any person in the stands or around the country watching that game could tell. Yeah, there were 7 sacks. A lot of those were on D.J.
“Still, they couldn’t find any production at all. This was an offense that’s been averaging in the 40s for the last couple years under Trevor Lawrence.
Finebaum admitted that Georgia had played well defensively, but overall he just thinks the Tigers simply aren’t the offensive juggernaut that many have given them credit for being.
“You have to give some of the credit to the Georgia defense … but against quality teams, (the Tigers) have not looked that great in recent years. Remember the Ohio State game at the end of last season, and this one.”
Clemson will try to get its offense going next Saturday against South Carolina State, while Georgia will try to further showcase its dominant defense against UAB.
"Chris Wallace covers college football for Saturday Down South. He has covered college athletics for multiple newspapers and also worked previously for Rivals.com and GolfChannel.com."
