Halftime Notes: Georgia and Auburn tied 10-10 at the half

AUBURN, Ala. — Georgia and Auburn are tied at 10 in the 128th playing of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. The Tigers dominated the first 12 or so minutes of the game but the Bulldogs have punched right back. Below, DawgsHQ tells you what we thought of the first two quarters of action.

*** Those first 10 to 12 minutes of the game were ugly. The Georgia offensive line didn’t get the job done to convert a 3rd and 2. The defense got lit up for a long run and couldn’t get the stop when it needed it after the quick change. There was the missed explosive play followed by the interception as well. But Georgia bounced back extremely well. Getting scores on those next two drives were almost a must and Georgia was able to make that happen.

*** Carson Beck has to throw the football with better touch. He had Oscar Delp open for a potential touchdown and just flat out missed it. The interception was also a big mistake and not because he threw it into a tight window. The ball placement was bad. If he throws that down where Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint can use his body as a shield, it has a chance to be completed and it definitely doesn’t result in an interception.

But he came back and did some good things after that. He did a really good job converting that third down on the touchdown drive. Beck took a shot on that play, but he stood in there and made a great throw to move the chains. UGA is going to need more out of him to win this game.

*** Dillon Bell has been a shot in the arm for the run game, no doubt about it. He runs with so much more contact toughness than you’d expect for a converted wideout. Daijun Edwards has gotten caught tip toeing a time or two, but he has also run with some nice balance.

*** Nice catch from Rara Thomas to convert in the red zone. That was obviously a huge play in this game, one Georgia had to have. I really liked the call on the fake screen action that got Rosemy-Jacksaint open for the 25-yard gain.

*** The offensive line has won a lot more battles than it has lost in the run game, but it has allowed Auburn to get some quick shots at the quarterback in pass protection. The Tigers are being really aggressive with the pressures and that was something that they used really well against Texas A&M last week. Georgia has to pick those up better and buy Beck some extra time.

*** The interior has done a really nice job against the run. Auburn has gotten stacked up at the line of scrimmage a lot. The Tigers have had a lot more success on the edge and not all of that is because of the outside linebackers and defensive ends. Georgia isn’t beating blocks on the perimeter as well as we’ve seen. Auburn is also making the inside linebackers run with counter action read-option that forces the edge defenders to squeeze really hard.

*** The Georgia inside linebackers have got to diagnose quicker and get to the edge. Smael Mondon has done an nice job but the long run, from what I saw, was on CJ Allen for not scraping over the top and getting to the edge.

*** Outside of the defensive pass interference on Everette, the Georgia secondary has played well. Tykee Smith came up with a nice sack and Malaki Starks had a really nice play on Auburn’s fourth possession when he came up and got the quarterback on a designed keep. Auburn isn’t challenging that group much with the pass.

*** I know it’s one he should hit, but big made field goal from Peyton Woodring. We’re all aware of the struggles in the South Carolina game. Georgia called on him to get the equalizer and he got it. Mekhi Mews also came up with a great kickoff return that jumpstarted that Bulldog touchdown drive.