Halftime Notes: Georgia leads UAB 28-14

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia leads UAB 28-14 at the half where both the defense and the offense have looked good at times, and bad at times. We’ve got some thoughts on the first two quarters of action and we share those with you below.

*** You thought with the way the game started that Georgia was land a lot more punches than that in the first quarter. I don’t know why the Bulldogs got away from pushing the ball downfield on first down but it did and there was a lull because of it. One thing we know about this offense is because of inconsistent quarterback play (and offensive line), new pieces, and injuries, this offense isn’t one that is going to overcome a bunch of mistakes.

*** Carson Beck looked sharp on the opening drive. He stepped into his throws, starting with the opening snap. Up until the dropped pass by Dominic Lovett on the second drive, you thought he was going to finally put together a fast start. Then he got sacked on third down and from there on out we saw him fail to see open receivers, miss open receivers, and drift back on some of his throws.

On the drive that ended with a turnover on downs, he didn’t see a wide open guy in the middle of the field on third down. Then he was inaccurate on fourth down because he never stopped giving ground on his drop.

But I do think he deserves credit for bouncing back after the missed deep ball to Jackson Meeks. That was a bad miss but he picked up a big third down with his legs. He hit Oscar Delp for a nice gain and the RPO game and run game did the rest. He went on to be pretty sharp the rest of the way and overcame a couple of drops from the Georgia receivers.

*** Daijun Edwards continues to bring a lot to this offense. He’s incredibly adept at finding the crease and making something out of it. He’s an incredible weapon for Georgia in the lower-red area. Andrew Paul has had a couple of runs in traffic that should help him build some confidence.

*** The offensive line’s good play has been really good. The bad play has been really bad. Earnest Greene is a big part of that. He does a nice job locking on and getting movement in the run game but when he has a miscue, it shows up big time.

*** I’m surprised that UAB is having some success running the ball. The Blazers are doing a nice job finding Georgia’s soft edges and bouncing runs to the edge. The defensive staff has to do a better job of not letting UAB get the advantage on the flanks.

Not sure who let Jacob Zeno out on that scramble before the half but that was a big play. Georgia got him off his spot several times but they couldn’t do that while also keeping him in the pocket. UAB made plays on that drive but Georgia made some mistakes.

*** I don’t know if it’s poor eye discipline, lack of quickness, or what, but Jamon Dumas-Johnson got picked on with that flat route to the tight end. I’ve counted UAB running it at him three times and he got there once, limiting it to a three yards. But two other times it has gotten away from him.

*** Good tackling from the secondary but UAB is blocking Georgia better on the edges than other teams have this season. I’m not seeing the defensive backs beat those blocks as well as they did the first couple of weeks. Tykee Smith always seems to be at the right place at the right time and, at some point, that’s not just luck. But he did miss a big tackle on that touchdown drive before the half and gave up the touchdown. That group lost some battles on that final drive.

*** Mekhi Mews is a weapon for Georgia in the return game but with how hard he fights for yardage, he has to make sure to secure the football. That’s something that will be a challenge for him being a smaller guy like that. We’re probably all singing a different tune through the middle part of the first half if that ball doesn’t come out.