Limited possessions the latest challenge for Georgia’s offense vs. Georgia Tech

Fifth-ranked Georgia got seven first-half possessions against UMass a week ago.

A few hours beforehand, over in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, No. 1 Alabama had just four against The Citadel, which utilizes a triple-option offense not unlike what the Bulldogs (10-1, 7-1) will face Saturday when rival Georgia Tech comes to town (noon, SEC Network).

Good news for Georgia is the limited possessions may not matter. Since the Bulldogs’ loss to LSU on October 13, their offense has scored 36, 34, 27 and 66 points. They’re running the ball much better than they did in Baton Rouge, too.

“I thought we played better at Kentucky and then better at Auburn,” Smart said. “I thought we played two good weeks coming into (UMass), our offense built some momentum. I mean, you can’t say they didn’t build momentum when they scored every time they had the ball.”

Against LSU, Swift and Holyfield were held to 128 yards. But against Florida, Kentucky and Auburn, the Bulldogs ran for 189 yards, 331 yards (including 156 from D’Andre Swift and 115 from Elijah Holyfield) and 303 yards, respectively.

“We’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with each other,” Holyfield said. “We know what our favorite plays are, we know what we run the best. Whenever we’re in a bad situation, we know what to call.”

While much of the talk about Saturday’s matchup between the Bulldogs and the Yellow Jackets (7-4, 5-3) centers around the Yellow Jackets’ vaunted triple-option offense, the Bulldogs offense could cause just as many problems (especially for a Yellow Jackets defense giving up an average of 137 rushing yards per game and ranked No. 40 in rush defense).

But one of Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson’s main concerns is Georgia’s ability to extend drives, via the run or pass.

“(In last year’s game), we ran 53 plays,” Johnson said. “That’s been a problem for us the past two weeks, we can’t get off the field. And that’s what we usually do to other people. The problem a year ago was self-inflicted, we weren’t very good on third downs. But the last two weeks, we’ve run 60 plays.

“We’ve got to find a way to get off the field.”

Much of the challenges that come with facing a triple-option side, at least offensively, are the fewer opportunities to score. The Bulldogs had only three first-half possessions and eight total last season, during the team’s 38-7 win in Atlanta, but managed 17 points before the break.

Georgia ranks fifth in the country in third-down conversion percentage (.504) and the Yellow Jackets rank outside the top-50 – tied for 127th out of 129 with UConn – in third-down conversion percentage defense.

“We’ve got to find a way to do better on third downs and we haven’t been very good at it,” Johnson said. “… I don’t know that they have played in many eight possession games, they have not been in many. But, it makes every possession count. You have to do something with the ball when you got it.”