Georgia football trails Ole Miss 21-20 at the half. There are a lot of positive and negative things to take away from this first half of football, and here are the three things that stand out the most.
1. Offense starts fast
Georgia’s offense was solid throughout the entire first half. The Bulldogs first two drives were very good as they consistently moved the chains and were generating a good rhythm to start the game. The Ole Miss defense struggled to stop the Bulldogs on the first few drives, and Georgia’s offense was aggressive despite trailing whenever they had the ball.
The Bulldogs’ run game was great as well, recording 97 rushing yards. The passing game has been explosive as well, generating 154 yards as quarterback Gunner Stockton shined the entire half. Stockton has two touchdowns in the game so far, one on the ground and one through the air to Lawson Luckie. Georgia has been great on third downs during the first half as well going 6-for-8.
If Georgia wants to keep this going, it needs to lean more on being aggressive in the run game and keep Ole Miss’s offense on the sidelines. But so far Georgia's offense has been near perfect, thanks to an excellent half from offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.
Slow start plagues Georgia's defense again
A common theme this season, Georgia’s defense started off slow in the first half against Ole Miss. The Rebels struck early, scoring on their opening possession — a 14-play, 65 yard drive on which they converted all of their third down attempts. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss looked flawless, completing passes up and down the field and showing poise against the Georgia secondary.
The Rebels kept it going on their next possession, driving 65 yards on 10 plays to go up 14-10. The lead reflects Ole Miss’s measured attack on a Georgia secondary that has struggled in first halves this season.
Ole Miss has dominated in the aerial attack, throwing for 137 yards in the first half. The Rebels have been successful in the offensive game so far by recording 15 first downs and going 5-for-5 on third down. Ole Miss is throwing with confidence, and the Bulldogs have looked slow and have lacked urgency to react to stop the pass. The Rebels would then proceed to score on their third possession of the game on a 11 play, 75 yard drive which would make the Rebels three for three for their drives, having not once punted the football.
There are bright spots however as the Bulldogs have shut down the Rebels rushing attack by allowing only 46 rushing yards in the first half and allowing 3.1 yards per carry. But if they want the Bulldogs want to pull away and win this game, they need to focus on stopping the pass in the 2nd half.
Secondary struggles
This has been Georgia’s constant problem. The Bulldogs’ secondary have been caught flat-footed repeatedly, allowing Ole Miss wide receivers to find soft spots in zones and settle in comfortably. Ole Miss has already eaten up chunks through the air, especially on intermediate throws, and Georgia has had trouble cleanly contesting routes or forcing Chambliss to make tough throws. Georgia’s secondary allowed 136 passing yards and Chambliss has completed 70 percent of his passes with a 127.5 quarterback rating.
If Georgia doesn’t adjust in the second half, Ole Miss is likely going to continue to exploit these matchups as the game goes on. The Bulldogs need to ramp up their blitzes and pressure Chambliss more to throw him off his game and play more contain defense if he decides to scramble out of the pocket.