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Kirby Smart critical of Georgia offense after Georgia Tech posts first half shutout

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby:Grant Grubbs•11/29/24•

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On Saturday, Georgia Tech stunned fans around the nation as it took a 17-0 lead over Georgia into halftime. Before entering the locker room at the break, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart revealed what his offense did wrong in the first half.

“You got to win first down on these guys,” Smart told ESPN’s Katie George. “They’re like a triple option team. They nickel and dime you and they keep possession of the clock. We knew that going in. They got a really good quarterback. He runs it, throws it. They’re doing a great job offensively. We’re not getting off the field on third down.

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“The first thing you do is don’t turn it over. The second thing you do is convert third and one or fourth and one, and that’s two drives that should have been points that we got nothing out of. You don’t get many possessions against these guys and we knew that.”

Georgia Tech was successful on 5-of-its-8 third-down conversion attempts in the first half. In fact, its offense was dominant in general. The Yellow Jackets tallied 307 yards of total offense in the half, averaging over 6.3 yards per rushing attempt.

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Moreover, Georgia Tech milked the clock as much as they could. The Yellow Jackets held possession for 19:48 compared to the Bulldogs’ mere 10:12. Kirby Smart and Co. will look to avoid a similar fate in the second half as it hopes to mount a comeback against the Yellow Jackets.

Jamal Haynes taunts Georgia after touchdown

Georgia Tech didn’t hesitate to add insult to injury in the first half. Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King took a two-yard run to the end zone to put Georgia Tech up 10-0 with 4:40 to play in the second quarter.

 Amid the celebration, Georgia Tech running back Jamal Haynes started walking along the back of the end zone and acted like he had a dog on a leash, taking it for a walk. Haynes later scored Georgia Tech’s second touchdown of the half to give the Yellow Jackets a 17-0 lead.

Jamal Haynes is the anchor of the Georgia Tech running game, which entered Friday night averaging 180 yards per game on the ground.