The Georgia-Florida rivalry turned into a war of attrition in the first half in Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon.
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is expected to miss the second half with an injury to his left hamstring, while Georgia starting tailback Trevor Etienne left the game with an apparent rib injury in the second quarter.
The Gators held a 13-7 lead at the half over the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs as Florida’s defense crossed up UGA quarterback Carson Beck throughout the first 30 minutes.
“We told the team before the game we know what the mission is, and we’ve got the team to do it,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “It’s 13-6 at halftime, we’ve got 30 more minutes.”
Beck, a fifth-year senior from Jacksonville and Heisman Trophy contender, was just 13-of-25 passing for 167 yards with two interceptions in the first half.
Etienne — a Florida transfer — had seven carries for 31 yards when he left the game, leaving freshman tailback Nate Frazier and walk-on Cash Jones to handle tailback duties.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart told his team that “energy and momentum” would be key in the second half, according to locker room reporter D.J. Shockley.
“He told the team they have to set the edge because (Florida) is going to run the football,” Shockley reported. “They are going to change the tempo on offense.”
UGA will get starting defensive backs Dan Jackson and Joenel Aguero back for the second half of the game after they were suspended for the first half on account of the targeting penalties they were called for in the second half of the 30-15 win over Texas -- UGA’s previous game.
Georgia’s first-half points came on two Peyton Woodring field goals, a 23-yarder in the first quarter that came after Stanford transfer tight end Ben Yurosek let a pass slip through his hands in the end zone.
The Gators scored the next 10 points, as DJ Lagway connection with Aidan Mizell for a 43-yard touchdown after Mizell beat Malaki Starks deep.
Trey Smack added a 32-yard field goal at the 7:22 mark of the second quarter, cashing in on Beck’s second interception of the first half.
Woodring drilled a 53-yarder with 43 seconds left in the half before Florida QB Aidan Warner, a Yale redshirt freshman transfer, engineered a late drive that led to a 53-yard Gators field goal just before the half.
Florida was leading 10-3 when it lost Lagway at the 10:02 mark of the second quarter when he appeared to pull his left hamstring on a 2-yard run.
Lagway was 2-of-6 passing for 47 yards and a touchdown and had rushed four times for 18 yards.
The Gators turned to Warner, a 6-foot-3, 206-pound redshirt freshman from Winter Park, Fla., who did not see action last season.
“We have to play well around him, and we’ve got to play with balance,” Napier told the ABC cameras at halftime. “He’s got to be a good decision maker and we have to play good on defense and find some plays in the kicking game.”
Warner was 2-of-3 passing against Samford earlier this season for 30 yards and had a 9-yard touchdown run. He also played five saps against Kentucky and completed his only pass for 20 yards.
Florida freshman tailback Jaden Baugh, an Atlanta product who rushed for five touchdowns against Kentucky, had 10 carries for 36 yards in the first half.