Josh Heupel calls for improvement after sluggish first half vs Georgia

During its dominant first half against No. 1 Tennessee, No. 3 Georgia did something no other team had done. The Bulldogs kept a Josh Heupel team out of the end zone en route to a 24-6 halftime advantage at Sanford Stadium on Saturday.

That’s quite a performance considering the Volunteers entered the game leading the nation in total offense. Heupel knows his team needs to get better after the break, and he pointed to a few areas to clean up as he headed to the locker room.

“We’ve got to do the little things right,” Heupel told CBS’ Jenny Dell at halftime. “Obviously, a bunch of self-inflicted wounds early in the football game. We’ve got to be more precise in what we’re doing, communication. We’ve got to clean some things up to get the ball moving.”

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Georgia held Tennessee to 139 yards in the first half and Kelee Ringo came down with a key interception to stop the Vols from scoring a touchdown. The Bulldogs offense, meanwhile, came out firing thanks to a huge half from quarterback Stetson Bennett. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns while running in a touchdown of his own to get the Bulldogs on the board in the first quarter.

Heupel’s group finds itself with is back against the wall at halftime, but he knows the approach the Volunteers need to take in order to get back into the game. Georgia had the ball to start the game, meaning Tennessee will get the ball to start the second half.

“We’ve got to reset,” Heupel said. “We’ve got to go play. One play at at time. We’ve got to make some plays to get back in the football game. Thirty more minutes of football. Let’s go play.”