ATHENS — Azeez Ojulari took advantage of Georgia’s off date before Florida. The outside linebacker went home to Marietta, Georgia, for the weekend, watched LSU defeat Auburn and rested his body.

Georgia traditionally has an open date before its annual trip to Jacksonville, Florida. This year, it came at a perfect time, as the defense reset after holding Kentucky to 177 offensive yards and no points on Oct. 19.

The Bulldogs’ second shutout of 2019 was their eighth consecutive game allowing 30 points or less.

“(The bye week) was very much needed for us,” Ojulari said. “We have things we can always work on and improve on, and we did that in this bye week. We had time to rest a little bit and get our bodies back right.”

An integral factor in Georgia’s havoc-wreaking defensive goals, Ojulari leads the Bulldogs with 3.5 sacks and 24 total quarterback pressures.

Georgia remains the only team in the nation which has yet to give up a rushing touchdown. It’s ranked first in the Football Bowl Subdivsion in red zone defense, fifth in scoring defense and seventh in total defense.

Opponents have scored only six times in the red zone and average 10.6 points per game and 266.7 yards per game against the Bulldogs.

But head coach Kirby Smart still isn’t impressed.

“Walking around, whistling by the graveyard that everything is fine and we’re just OK, and we’ve got good defensive numbers — that’s not the case when you watch the true integrity of it,” Smart said.

Smart was especially displeased with Georgia’s performance against Kentucky. Despite the fact that the Wildcats were held to two completions for 17 yards, lost a fumble and went 3-for-13 on third down, Smart said it wasn’t enough.

“When you watch that tape, there’s a lot more concern,” Smart said. “If you went to a coach and said ‘Watch this game,’ they would come in and say, ‘That is atrocious.’ Tackling, fits, eye discipline, leverage, blockers.”

Senior safety J.R. Reed expects to be tested by Florida quarterback Kyle Trask and the Gators’ receiving corps of tight end Kyle Pitts and wide receivers Freddie Swain, Van Jefferson and Trevon Grimes. Together, the four pass catchers account for 1,339 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Gators.

“There’s just so many of them,” Reed said. “You never know where the ball’s gonna go. Like some teams, we knew the ball [was going to] go to one receiver or one running back, but they have so many weapons out there.”

Reed said games like the upcoming matchup against Florida are why players come to the SEC, and he fully understands the implications of this year’s meeting — the second consecutive game where both Georgia and Florida are ranked in the Associated Press top 10.

“We just know whoever wins this game [will] most likely win the East,” Reed said. “That’s what history says, and we’re in the driver’s seat if we win this game to go to the SEC championship and whatever else we want.”