Kirby Smart says Georgia's offense played well in 7-point 1st half vs. Alabama: 'Our offense hasn't been bad'

Georgia’s first half was a house of horrors against Alabama on Saturday night. From a defense that couldn’t get a stop until the second quarter to a slow start from the offense, it all culminated in a 30-7 halftime deficit.

But speaking with sideline reporter Holly Rowe at halftime, Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart said he actually thought his offense performed OK when it got on the field. The problem was just a lopsided possession margin.

“And our offense hasn’t been bad, we just can’t get our offense on the field. And we have to stop him. We turned the ball over,” Smart said.

While Smart wasn’t worried about the offensive showing, others will be.

Quarterback Carson Beck was 8-of-17 for 98 yards and two interceptions in the first half, including one that came right after a fourth down stop for the Bulldogs defense. Beck was also responsible, partly, for a safety when he was pressured and committed intentional grounding the end zone when he lofted a deep pass to some empty field.

And the rushing game managed to be a slight bright spot, going for 80 yards and the lone first half touchdown at a 7.3 yard per carry clip.

But the bigger problems lie on defense, where Georgia was sent chasing its tail early and often. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe finished the half with 305 yards of total offense himself while the entire offensive operation for the Crimson Tide looked effortless at times.

“Well most important thing is we’ve gotta get some stops,” Smart said. “Alabama’s been really explosive tonight. We’ve had no answers for Milroe. He’s a great athlete, phenomenal athlete. We’ve struggled to tackle him. We don’t have the edges. They’ve done a really good job throwing with him out of empty and that’s been new. But we’ve gotta get some stops.” 

And on the other sideline, Kalen DeBoer raved about his quarterback.

“He’s just staying within himself,” DeBoer said at halftime on the broadcast. “I think we’re putting him in good spots, guys are blocking for him. And then we’re going out and making the play. He’s really progressed and you’re seeing him do what we asked him to do and he’s comfortable doing it right now.