Kirby Smart calls the Yellow Jackets a triple-threat team as GT leads UGA at halftime

Just like that, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets had a three-score lead over the Georgia Bulldogs in the game simply known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. Quarterback Haynes King and running back Jamal Haynes led the Yellow Jackets to a resounding 307 yards in the first half to put Georgia Tech up 17-0 as the two teams headed to their locker rooms.

For the first time since they played Kentucky in 2019, the Bulldogs had been shut out in the first half, and head coach Kirby Smart was not pleased with his team's performance through the first 30 minutes.

"You gotta win first down on these guys," Smart said. "They’re a triple option team, they’ll nickel and dime you… We gotta get off the field."

Georgia produced a minimal 137 yards in the first half as quarterback Carson Beck struggled to find a receiver downfield who would actually catch his pass attempts. Almost entirely due to dropped passes, Beck went 10 of 17 in the first half as the Bulldog offense struggled through the air and on the ground.

"You have a Georgia offense that can't run the ball," ESPN's Booger McFarland said during the halftime show.

From turnovers to productivity, Smart had quite a few points to make about what his team needed to change during halftime.

"First thing, you don’t turn it over," Smart said. "You don’t get many possessions against these guys and we knew that from the start."

Georgia wideout Dominic Lovett dropped and lost a fumble which was recovered by Georgia Tech's Jackson Hamilton.

While the first half was a low productive performance for both teams, the 17 points put up by the Yellow Jackets and the fact that the Georgia Tech defense shut out the No. 7 Bulldogs sent shock waves throughout all of college football.

Just 2 seconds before the first half concluded, Beck marched his team down the field and into field goal range. However, kicker Peyton Woodring, who has a career-long successful 55-yard attempt, missed the 53-yard attempt to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard.