Just over a week ago fans and players alike had a rough Saturday. LSU outplayed Georgia and exposed both the offense and defenses’ weaknesses. Despite the heartbreak of a loss, Georgia believes it’s goals are still achievable. The team has not lost hope.

In an interview on Monday, senior defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter touched on the topic saying, “We control our destiny. It is a tough loss to LSU but they have a great football team. Put nothing against them but we didn’t come out and execute like we were supposed to. We weren’t physical enough, they came out and played a little bit harder than us. If we continue to do what we are supposed to do and bounce back from that and handle the rest of the season how we are supposed to then our destiny is in our hands. We can be where we want to be.”

He also said that he believes everyone needs a moment like the outcome of that game to humble them and show them how much more work they have to do. Georgia is determined to fix the areas where they need improvement. The loss against the LSU Tigers was a wakeup call for Georgia but now they are focused on one of the biggest rivalry games in the SEC: Georgia v. Florida.

The defense’s number one objective is to stop Florida’s run game in its tracks. “Georgia always stops the run first, we pride ourselves on that. We have been saying that week in and week out but we actually have to make it happen this week,” said Ledbetter. “They have a good football team; the quarterback is good and they like to run the ball. I mean that is what you get when you are in the SEC and we have to handle that really, really well this week.”

Not only does Georgia need to focus on physical ability but also mental capability. The SEC is made up of teams that have pure, physical talent but it is the teams for also have the right mindset that are able to rise above the rest. “We believe it is that mental factor that just puts you over the top and allows you to win the football game because if you impose your will on someone they can’t really do anything about it,” said Ledbetter. “If you are more mentally prepared and more confident and that actually helps you play the game of football. It gives you that edge.”

Georgia spent the bye week working on themselves and seeing where they could improve personally and now they are focused on stopping Florida.