Numbers add up to a dominant defensive effort

They had been beaten, battered and at times embarrassed against the likes of California and Florida.

This was their shot at redemption.

It was now or never for the University of Tennessee defense.

Where have these guys been?

There was emotion. There was tackling. There was no break and very little bend.

The Vols' much-maligned defensive unit reversed recent trends by beating and battering No. 12-ranked Georgia during a 35-14 victory at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.

UT defensive coordinator John Chavis saw it gradually unfolding as his unit fed off a shutout first half.

"Yeah, you could see it on the sideline," he said. "Obviously when good things happen, you feel a little different. When you go home, even your wife looks at you a little different.

"That's the great thing about athletics. You can get knocked down, but if you're made up of the right stuff you know how to crawl back up and get to where you want to be.

"We took a big step in the right direction today."

Make that a huge leap.

Coming into the game, UT's defense ranked 12th in the SEC and 110th in the NCAA in scoring defense (37.5). Georgia had 14.

In total defense, they were 11th in the SEC and 95th in the NCAA, giving up 439 yards per game. Georgia had 243.

They were allowing an average of 188.3 rushing yards per game, ranking 88th in the nation. Georgia had 69.

In passing defense, they were 12th in the SEC and 85th in the NCAA at 250.8 yards per game. Georgia had 174.

Chavis knows those Georgia numbers are the kind that win SEC football games.

Those are the numbers he has been expecting and waiting to see all season.

"I think our guys are growing up a little bit and maturing," he said. "We didn't make the big mistakes we've been making and they played with great intensity."

It was like a sigh of relief for senior defensive end Xavier Mitchell.

He had heard the negative thoughts.

"We're as conscious of it as the media guys are," he said. "You've got guys on ESPN, like Kirk Herbstreit, and everybody else wanting to say something about Coach (Phillip) Fulmer, but he's a great coach.

"Coach Chavis and Coach Cutcliffe, they've all been doing this a long time. But it was on us. They're on our butts all day long trying to get us to respond and that was our main focus today."

Stopping Georgia's running game had been the talk of the town all week.

The Bulldogs were averaging 178.2 yards per game on the ground and were coming off a 328-yard game against Ole Miss last week.

There weren't any big gaps against the Vols.

Thomas Brown or Knowshon Moreno spent most of the day looking for holes and gaps that just weren't there.

"With all the big guys playing as well as they were - J.T. Mapu, Demonte Bolden, Walter Fisher, Xavier Mitchell - it was easy to go make plays with them playing as well as they were," linebacker Rico McCoy said after he and Jerod Mayo led the Vols with 11 tackles apiece. "It finally all came together."

That was the theme of the day for the defense.

"We had a bigger attitude out there today," Mitchell said. "I don't think anybody in the country gave us a chance.

"Who really thought we could stop them from rushing the ball? We feel like we're a great team. We just had to go out there and prove it."

Chavis said the defensive game plan was actually simplified more so than any previous game.

He also had a response to all the negative comments lately.

"I don't think anything negative said by anybody can motivate a football team," he said. "I think our players were motivated because they were hurt. They were disappointed they had not played as well as they needed to and we were disappointed as a staff.

"That's where 110 percent of the motivation came from. Have you ever seen negativity motivate somebody?"

Former Vol defensive end Chuck Smith stood in the end zone after the game and soaked up the victory.

"That kind of defense is a Tennessee tradition," Smith said. "I wasn't worried. The one thing I know about coach Fulmer and his staff is they do a great job adjusting, especially after a bye week.

"I knew Tennessee would come out and play at a competitive level."