What Kirby Smart said at halftime beating South Carolina 20-10
By Keith Farner
Published:
Kirby Smart’s Georgia team led 20-10 at halftime at South Carolina, but he had at least one concern, namely his pass defense.
The Gamecocks rolled up 159 passing yards, including a touchdown pass by WR Deebo Samuel to WR Bryan Edwards.
Smart’s concerns, shared on WSB Radio, centered on freshman DB Tyson Campbell, who the Gamecocks targeted early to move the ball after a slow start when Georgia jumped out to a 17-7 lead.
South Carolina QB Jake Bentley threw an early interception on a play where the ball was deflected, and then caught and returned for a touchdown by Georgia DB Deandre Baker. Baker saw time against Samuel, who was held to a somewhat modest four catches for 17 yards. But it was Edwards who had five catches for 53 yards as the Gamecocks focused on short passes to get the offense on track. Overall, eight Gamecocks had at least one catch in the first half as Bentley was 18-for-31 for 146 yards.
Coaching adjustments should be a key factor in the second half, as South Carolina’s much-discussed up-tempo offense held the time of possession edge 15:39 to 14:21. The Gamecocks also held the yardage edge 191 to 183. But Georgia’s rushing attack led 104 to 32. Each team threw an interception.
Georgia was 1-for-5 on third down attempts, while South Carolina was 5-for-10.
Kirby Smart halftime interview on @wsbradio. "The passing game for them. (worries me). We have a young corner who they are picking on and is losing composure. I think offensively we just self destruct a couple of times. If we dont self destruct we are hard to stop. "
— Jay Black (@jayblack2) September 8, 2018
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
