Halftime Notes: Georgia leads UMass 28-14
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s offense has looked great but the defense is still trying to find its footing as it leads UMass 28-14 at the half. DawgsHQ has some thoughts on what we’ve seen in the first two quarters of action.
*** No issues with the offense, really. Georgia has gotten a lot of guys involved and it has moved the ball at will. I thought the decision to go for it on fourth deep in UMass territory was a good one and Georgia had something dialed up for it.
*** Carson Beck has been sharp. He completed his first seven passes and had three touchdowns, that’s a pretty good ratio and something you’d expect in a game like this. Georgia’s offense should be playing like this against UMass. He has done a good job of not missing his layups and the touchdown toss to Dominic Lovett was perfectly placed.
*** Nate Frazier has missed a couple of opportunities in this one. He had a walk-in touchdown had he seen the cutback lane on a run in the second quarter. Both Dwight Phillips and Chauncey Bowens have gotten early looks. Cash Jones continues to operate in that third-down role.
*** Arian Smith took the top off the UMass for a big gain and four of Beck’s first seven pass attempts have gone for 15 yards or more. Georgia seems to have the quick screen game any time it wants. The tight ends are already heavily involved with Oscar Delp and Lawson Luckie combining for three catches and 46 yards. Cole Speer’s catch on that final UGA possession was impressive.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Strength of Schedule
CFP Top 25 SOS ranking
- 2
Alabama needs a prayer
Tide can make the CFP but needs help
- 3
3 ACC teams in CFP?
Path for ACC outlined
- 4
Taco Bell offers Oklahoma
Brent Venables story pays dividends
- 5
New CFP Top 25
College Football Playoff rankings revealed
*** The offensive line should be taking care of UMass and it feels like its doing a pretty good job. The Bulldogs are getting the run game started and the running backs have had success before contact. The pass protection broke down a little on one instance but not much other than that.
*** Too many missed tackle for Georgia on defense and it starts up front. The Bulldogs have had runs bottled up over and over only to miss tackles and have the play spit out for a big gain. Christen Miller’s injury looms large right now and we’ll be all over that. I think it’s good news that it’s a shoulder over what appeared to be a forearm early on. Mykel Williams missed a big one, on a potential sack, when UMass converted that fourth down before its second touchdown. Warren Brinson has been a bright spot here, leading the team with five tackles and tallying a sack and a tackle for loss.
*** Again, poor tackling and poor assignment football at the second level. No one from the inside or outside linebacker group has been the type of factor they should be in a game like this. UMass has bounced some runs to the edge with ease because this group is out of position.
*** One more time, the tackling has been poor. The run fits and angles have been bad from the secondary, too. UMass is getting some easy opportunities and some it hasn’t even capitalized upon. The entire defense needs to lock in to start the second half.
