The University of Georgia football team defeats Texas Christian University 65-7 in the College Football National Championship at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday, Jan. 9.

A year after eight Georgia defenders were selected in the NFL draft, including a record-setting five defenders who went in the first round, the Bulldogs were expected to regress some on the defensive side of the ball.

While Georgia did take a step back from the record-setting defense it had a year ago, this wasn’t the step back that was predicted. The Bulldogs finished the regular season as the No. 2 scoring defense in the country, only giving up 11.3 points per game.

“The standard doesn’t change,” said Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. “Players change.”

Make no mistake, this year’s defense played with the same speed and physical toughness as last year’s, but there was just something different about the defense this year.

This year’s group found a way to uphold the standard that Smart wants without having the production to do so.

With the losses of Jordan Davis, Travon Walker and Devonte Wyatt on the defensive line, Georgia turned to Jalen Carter and a collection of younger players including Mykel Williams to replenish that group.

The result was fewer sacks for Georgia, and with Carter missing some games in the middle of the season, this year’s defense just wasn’t able to get after the quarterback like last year’s group.

Yet the Bulldogs still found a way to keep their opponents off the scoreboard. Some — including Smart himself — called the group “opportunistic” or “lucky” at the beginning of the season, but over time it became clear that this year’s defense just had a knack for forcing turnovers.

The Bulldogs showed their big play ability in week one with true freshman Malaki Starks’ incredible interception of Bo Nix. Georgia showed it again against South Carolina and Tennessee with big interceptions against Spencer Rattler and Hendon Hooker, respectively.

Finally, all of college football got to see it with Christopher Smith’s 95-yard touchdown return against LSU. Time and time again, this year’s defense showed its ability to make big plays in games that helped shift momentum for the Bulldogs.

However, Georgia’s defensive ability to make big plays was also a double-edged sword for the team. The Bulldogs were in trouble in games where they couldn’t create takeaways on defense to make up for the lack of pressure.

First was the Missouri game, where the defense struggled to get after the quarterback or generate turnovers, leading to a near upset of the Bulldogs.

Then came the college football semifinal game against Ohio State, where Georgia generated zero turnovers in the defense’s worst outing of the season. At one point in the game, Ohio State quarterback C. J. Stroud had four incompletions — and the same number of touchdowns.

As a result of the defensive lapses, Georgia had its closest encounter with defeat this season against Ohio State. Yet the Bulldogs’ defense held on just enough on its last drive, stopping a run for a loss of one and a Stroud incompletion on back-to-back plays to force Ohio State into a 50-yard field goal, which they failed to convert.

Opportunistic? Lucky? Probably. But that’s just what defines the Bulldogs’ defense this season. Thanks to a group effort from younger players such as Williams, Smael Mondon Jr., Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Starks along with older guys like Carter, Kelee Ringo and Smith, Georgia has been able to make the right plays at the right time.

The Bulldogs showcased just that in the national championship game against TCU, forcing three turnovers by the Horned Frogs en route to their 65-7 win.

Just like that, on the biggest of all stages, the Georgia defense showed all of college football that while they were not as dominant as a year ago, they still were able to take over games by just making the right play at the right time.