Georgia’s defense started controlling the line of scrimmage about the same time its offense began rolling.
The Bulldogs held Southern to 34 second-half yards after the Jaguars had 150 yards in the first half.
Southern’s second-half possessions went like this:
- Three plays for minus-6 yards
- Three plays for one yard
- Three plays for eight yards
- Five plays for 17 yards
- Three plays for minus-5 yards
- Six plays for three yards
The Jaguars, an FCS program, had just two first downs in the second half after going into halftime with eight.
They entered the game averaging 446.3 yards and 38.3 points a game.
“A lot of it came down to me versus you. In that battle, when ‘me’ is better than ‘you,’ ‘me’ wins the 1-on-1,” Southern coach Dawson Odums said. “That happens a lot. This is SEC football. I think the third quarter, they showed you big-boy football. They showed you why they play in the SEC. It came down to winning 1-one-1’s. In the first half we were able to get 2-one-1. In the third quarter, it was 1-on-1, and they won the 1-on-1s.”
Quincy Mauger, Tim Kimbrough and Trent Thompson led Georgia with five tackles each, career highs for both Kimbrough and Thompson, a freshman.
Cornerback Malkom Parrish also blocked a punt that set up the Bulldogs’ first touchdown.
