Getting nowhere

ATHENS, Ga. -- Against South Carolina and especially against Arkansas, the Georgia offense lit it up.

In the first half of Saturday's 20-13 loss to LSU, the Bulldogs simply stunk it up. Playing their worst half of the season and one of the worst of Mark Richt's coaching tenure, Georgia managed just one first down and 49 yards.

"We definitely had a rough first half offensively, to say the least," Richt said. "We didn't get much of anything done and were fortunate to only be down 6-0."

The scoreless first half was the first by Georgia since last year's loss to Alabama, when the Crimson Tide rang up a 31-0 lead before winning 41-30. The Bulldogs got their 49 yards on 18 plays and had the ball for only nine minutes and 18 seconds.

LSU had only two first-half field goals despite amassing 236 yards on 42 plays and having 20:42 in possession time.

"There were a lot of plays we could have made at a bunch of different positions," Bulldogs quarterback Joe Cox said. "There were some balls I could have thrown better, and we didn't run the ball well. We talked about how we wanted to really hurt them in the running game, and it just wasn't happening in the first half."

Said offensive coordinator Mike Bobo: "I'd say it was a rough day. We played hard and fought even though we were struggling a little bit, but give LSU credit. They came out and stopped what we were doing. We made some plays at the end, but obviously it wasn't enough."

Cox completed 3 of 9 passes in the first half for 31 yards, with 27 going to A.J. Green late in the first quarter to account for Georgia's only first down. Starting tailback Richard Samuel had 11 yards on four first-half carries, while backup Caleb King's four carries went for 5 yards.

The Bulldogs went three-and-out to start the game before LSU took its first possession 54 yards on six plays to reach the Georgia 9-yard line. A third-and-4 pass from Jordan Jefferson intended for tight end Richard Dickson was intercepted in the end zone by Brandon Boykin, but Boykin ran the ball out and was stopped at the 2.

Two King rushes got the ball out to the 5 before Cox dropped back in the end zone and threw deep for Green, who had beaten cornerback Patrick Peterson around midfield and the safety coverage as well. Had the two connected, it could have been the longest touchdown strike in school history, but Green couldn't catch up to Cox's throw.

"I saw it kind of late," Green said. "I saw it at the last minute and couldn't get my feet under it to get a good dive in."

Cox thought Green had it, adding, "It was a bad feeling, because you never know what that might have done to the game."

With 10 minutes remaining before halftime, Georgia faced a third-and-8 at its 34. Cox handed off to Samuel around right end for a gain of 2 yards, which brought out the boo birds for the first time all season at Sanford Stadium.

There would be more in the fragmented first half.

"A lot of times you might run the ball on third down, and people have no clue that there is nobody at all up in the box for run support," Cox said. "If you block it right, there is no one to tackle the back, and you can get 30 yards. It's just one of those things where if it works, people think you are geniuses.

"But we know the fans expect to see us succeed, and we weren't succeeding in the first half."