Halftime Notes: Georgia leads LSU 35-10 in SEC Championship
ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgia has dominated the first half of the 2022 SEC Championship game. LSU has been unable to stop the red-hot Bulldog offense and Kirby Smart’s team has had a bounce or two go its way. Below, DawgsHQ tells you what we thought about the first half of action.
- Let Stetson Bennett cook, right? That opening drive was really ugly with the run-run-pass sequence. Maybe there was a poor read or a missed check in there, but whatever. Georgia came out slinging it on its second possession and all of a sudden it had a really good offense. Bennett looks like a different guy when Georgia is mixing it up and throwing it on early downs, when it is attacking that eight to 20-yard area of the defense. Bennett has looked great since they got him going.
- Really nice half there from Kendall Milton. He looks like he has some juice. Not seeing the same twitch and power we’ve seen from Kenny McIntosh of late. Not sure if he might be worn down a little or what. The Tigers seem to be loaded up a bit for the run game.
- Brock Bowers’ success early in this game has been a pressure point. We’ve seen Ladd McConkey and Darnell Washington benefit from it. Getting him involved changes this offense for a lot of other guys.
- A couple of really nice grabs for Dominick Blaylock and it’s really clear how comfortable Bennett is with Ladd McConkey at this point. He has been the target on a couple of tight-window throws in the first half. Kearis Jackson got some pretty good work in there as well. The Bulldogs got away with what appeared to be a block in the back on that play.
- I’ve watched AD Mitchell when he has been in the game and he has won some routes. He hasn’t been the primary read on those routes but he has won some matchups one-on-one. He didn’t on the second-down attempt from the four because he slipped down, but I expect Georgia to go to him a few times before this one is over.
- I wasn’t all that impressed with the defense in the first half but I thought the defensive line did a nice job. Tramel Walthour came up with a nice play. Jalen Carter got some pressure. Nazir Stackhouse was really good against the run. The Bulldogs affected the quarterback despite so many three-step drops designed to just get the ball out quickly.
- Linebacker play has been solid. On the inside, Smael Mondon and Jamon Dumas-Johnson aren’t as disruptive as we’ve seen although Dumas-Johnson did have a nice pass breakup. Chaz Chambliss had a big sack before the blocked field goal and i’ve seen some good things out of Robert Beal on the outside.
- Chris Smith has been so up and down in this game. We’ve seen a couple of really nice plays. We’ve seen him struggle. The Bulldogs have looked confused at times in the secondary. The in cuts have been a problem, almost like the Tigers are crossing the face of the leverage. The tackling has also been super bad for stretches then really good.
