An old adage goes like this: 99 pats on the back can be erased by one mistake.

What Georgia’s defense accomplished in the first 59 minutes of Saturday’s loss against LSU didn’t matter.

Leading by one, with under a minute to play, the Tigers set up 33 yards away from the end zone. Needing only a field goal to take the lead, LSU tailback Charles Scott bombarded would-be tacklers during his game-clinching touchdown rush.

“It was a time to show greatness and we didn’t show it,” said defensive end Justin Houston.

True: The Tigers had excellent field position, stealing Georgia’s momentum with a 35-yard kick return following the Bulldogs’ go-ahead touchdown.

Also true: Georgia contained Scott most of the game, limiting the 6-foot-1, 234-pound bruising senior to 66 yards on 18 previous carries (3.6 average per carry.)

But Georgia’s defense had a breakdown on Scott’s final carry.

“It just came down to us not wrapping up, there’s no other way to put it,” said Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran.

“He made a great run, not taking anything away from him, but at the same time we had guys there, we just have to wrap up, put him on the ground and wrap up.”

“It’s all a game of inches you know,” Curran continued. “If I was a step over, or if the safety could have gotten off a block, it’s all about that, the ifs. We’ve got to make those ifs into reality. We’ve got to make that happen.”

Scott was unfazed by two solid hits, and was touched by two other Bulldogs who couldn’t bring him to the ground.

“It hurts man,” said Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin, who struggled to find the words to explain the 20-13 loss. “I mean, we prepared for this game; we were so ready for the game. We played so great. It just happened to be one play that they made that we didn’t.”

Boykin’s comments are correct – the Georgia defense played expertly for most of the contest. Allowing only six points through three quarters, the Bulldogs racked up six sacks and an interception. The Tigers came away with only 10 points from four trips to the red zone.

“We definitely did some great things, and made some stops,” Curran said. “We kept them going three-and-out when we needed too. But at the same time, we’ve got to do it on every single play. It only takes one play to get you beat, which is what we saw today. We’ve got to learn from this and know that we can’t take any play for granted.”

But one play – one game-winning play – changed the defense’s outlook. Curran finished with 16 tackles, a career high. But he repeatedly referred to the tackle he didn’t make in post-game interviews. Houston, who had two sacks, said he still could have done more. Boykin wasn’t interested in discussing his interception.

“You’re going to have plays like Charles Scott with his run, but you’ve got to minimize them,” Curran said.

“You can’t let them, when the game is on the line, you can’t let that happen. It’s a game of inches, a game of detail. We’ve got to focus on that and not let that beat us.”

Added Boykin: “We bowed our necks as a team all day and did what we were supposed to do, it just came down to that one play at the end.”