No. 5 Georgia is tied with Florida 10-10 at halftime. Here are some observations from The Red & Black.

Georgia’s passing attack stalls after opening drive

In its first game since firing head coach Billy Napier, Florida’s defense had no answer for Georgia’s air attack out of the gates. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Bulldogs quickly faced third-and-long following two unsuccessful runs. Quarterback Gunner Stockton found an open Dillon Bell to move the sticks. On Stockton’s second pass attempt, he underthrew running back Cash Jones downfield, but a pass interference flag gave Georgia another first down. After two consecutive completions to tight ends Elyiss Williams and Oscar Delp for 14 and 20 yards, Stockton connected with Bell again to go ahead 7-0 early. Georgia tallied 54 passing yards and just six rushing yards on its opening drive.

Georgia was stifled on its next five possessions, however. Stockton threw for just 24 total yards on these drives, which resulted in four punts and an interception, which bounced off the fingertips of wide receiver Noah Thomas. On the fourth drive, Stockton was called for a false start penalty, despite Florida appearing to jump offsides — a rare call against a quarterback.

Despite showing promise on the first drive, Stockton was only able to lead the offense to one more field goal in the final seconds of the half, completing 14 of 21 passes for 119 yards.

Lagway, Wilson find holes in Georgia’s defense

Up until the fourth quarter, the Georgia defense struggled in its last game, allowing Ole Miss to score five touchdowns on its first five drives. After forcing a punt on Florida’s first drive, the defense struggled again as the Gators received favorable field position when a Brett Thorson punt sailed out of bounds, traveling just 24 yards. On the first play of the ensuing drive, quarterback DJ Lagway was forced out of the pocket and found wide receiver Eugene “Tre” Wilson III unmarked by Georgia safety JaCorey Thomas for a 40-yard, game-tying touchdown.

On the first play of the Gators’ next drive, the secondary allowed Wilson far too much space in the middle of the field, leading to a 28-yard reception to start the drive. Without defensive lineman Jordan Hall, who was ruled out of the game with an injury, Georgia was able to put enough pressure on Lagway to hold Florida to a short field goal, giving the Gators a 10-7 lead. In the final two minutes, standout safety KJ Bolden was disqualified for a targeting penalty, forcing the Bulldogs to play without a second starter on defense.

Georgia forced punts on Florida’s fourth and fifth drives, limiting Lagway’s effectiveness. The sophomore finished 7 of 11 passing, completing five of those passes to Wilson, who finished with 87 yards and a score. Wilson had twice as many receiving yards as any player on either team.

Georgia leans on Frazier at running back

So far this season, Georgia’s backfield duties have been split between a few players. Nate Frazier entered the year as the expected top option, but crucial fumbles against Austin Peay and Alabama allowed others to see more action. While Cash Jones has been used primarily as the receiving back and Dwight Phillips Jr. has seen sporadic usage, Chauncey Bowens received the starting role against Alabama and Kentucky. However, Frazier has regained much of the volume as Bowens has dealt with a calf injury.

This trend continued against the Gators, as Frazier had seven carries to Bowens’ three. However, neither running back was particularly effective, combining for 44 yards. No Bulldog running back had a carry that went more than seven yards, with many being stuffed around the line of scrimmage. Georgia did not run with either back on its final two drives of the half — one of which was a three-and-out and the other resulted in a game-tying field goal during a two-minute drill.