Georgia coach Kirby Smart knows what his Bulldogs are up against trailing Ole Miss 16-7 at halftime on the road.
“We’ve got to get some turnovers, we’re holding them to field goals, we’re not giving up the plays in the red area,” said Smart, who is 15-12 at UGA when trailing at halftime and has now trailed in 13 of his last 16 SEC games.
“We have to affect the quarterback a little bit better. They’re doing a really good job of getting the ball out.”
Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart 9-of-14 passing for 131 yards and an interception.
But Dart has also been sacked once in the first half and his five rushing attempts have not netted any yards.
Dan Jackson picked off Dart on the opening series, returning his interception to the Ole Miss 21-yard line leading to Nate Frazier’s 2-yard touchdown run that gave UGA a 7-0 lead.
The Rebels scored the next 16 points before Georgia was driving to cut into the lead in the second quarter.
The drive ended, however, when wide-open Stanford-transfer tight end Ben Yourasek dropped a well-thrown Carson Beck pass at the Ole Miss 34 that would have been a first down.
Beck was sacked on the next play for a 9-yard loss, taking Georgia out of field goal position.
“They’re getting off the rock really good, they’re jumping our snap count pretty good, they have really good defensive players,” Smart said of the Ole Miss front seven.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to be able to run the ball enough to keep them honest so they can’t pass rush like that and pin their ears back.”
Frazier leads Georgia with 22 yards rushing on eight carries, while Trevor Etienne has 21 yards on five carries.
Beck, 6-of-10 passing for 49 yards, has been sacked twice.
Georgia will get the ball first to start the second half.
