Georgia attempts to overcome third quarter woes against Kentucky

Georgia has displayed a handful of weaknesses through eight games this season, but a glaring one remains its play in the third quarter.

When it comes to keeping up with the opposition, Georgia has struggled mightily to do so in the period after halftime. After matching opponents with a 41-41 point total in the first quarter and narrowly being outscored 55-51 in the second quarter, the Bulldogs have been unable to keep up the pace. Georgia has been outscored 66-46 in the third quarter, only to outscore the opposition 48-47 in the final 15 minutes of regulation.

That pattern has particularly been an issue since the team’s blowout loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 24. In the four games that followed the 31-point defeat, Georgia managed a total of 14 points in those third quarters. The Bulldogs played to that script in Saturday’s loss to Florida as they did not score at all after halftime.

According to Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, there’s one evident solution to solving the third-quarter problem.

“The biggest thing you do is come out of the half and play better,” Smart said. “For the most part, some of those games the opponent gets the ball (to start the third quarter). A lot of times we've taken the ball (in the first half) sometimes to get the wind, sometimes to be aggressive and show confidence in the offense. A lot of it is dictated with how you come out and play in the second half.”

But better execution isn’t all Smart is relying on at this point. He said he and the other coaches have studied the team’s warm-up routine after the halftime break, trying to decipher whether the players are doing too much after 30 minutes of game action or not enough to get ready for the remaining two quarters.

“You always analyze those things from a strength staff to figure out what you can do better, making sure you're at your best in the third quarter and fourth,” Smart said.

Wide receiver Michael Chigbu has seen the Bulldogs’ offense sputtering after the halftime break first hand. In the sophomore’s eyes, the solution lies within the players paying more attention to the task at hand. He pointed at dismissing whatever happened in the first and second quarter and instead turning their effort into making more plays in the here and now.

“We've just got to focus more and just strain more,” Chigbu said.

The offense has been a weak link for Georgia as of late but that isn’t to say the defense has played perfectly. The slow starts by the offense in the third quarter have put a greater reliance on the Bulldogs’ defense to suppress the opposition. Too many times it has failed to deliver drive-ending plays, which has only made matters worse for Georgia’s chances.

Outside linebacker Chuks Amaechi said he couldn’t speak to the offense’s hiccups but stated attention to detail in the preparation during the week can help the defense do a better job in the second half.

“We're going to start being a little more critical in our practice and our scouting periods and making sure we don't have any slip-ups,” Amaechi said. “If we do, we'll repeat the play and make sure we find the holes and where to fix those.”

Scoring issues in the third quarter are detrimental at any time but it could be even more troublesome against Kentucky. The surging Wildcats ride a three-game winning streak in conference play and some of that success stems from their play in the third quarter. In those games, Kentucky has outscored opponents 28-17 after only scoring 21 in the third quarter of its first five games.

“They are a physical team,” Smart said. “Having talked to several teams that have just recently played them, they’re sore after the game. They’re a physical bunch. They do a good job getting after you. We’ve got a tall task in order to stop that run game and also to get ours going, so that’s the challenge in front of us.”

If the Bulldogs fail to produce any improvement on their third quarter play, that challenge will be doubly difficult for Smart and his players.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Georgia attempts to overcome third quarter woes against Kentucky."