We get a loaded college football schedule this weekend, and depending on who you talk to, Ole Miss vs Georgia may be the biggest game on the slate. It features the two-time defending national champions taking on what many would refer to as a bit of an upstart Rebel squad.
In terms of the history between these two teams, there have only been 46 games played. That’s a relatively small number when discussing two SEC opponents. And in that time, the series hasn’t been kind towards the Rebels. The overall record sits at 32-13-1 in favor of Georgia, if you include vacated wins. In Athens, it sits at 18-4-1 in favor of the Bulldogs. Needless to say, it’s a tall task for Ole Miss.
Oh, and Georgia hasn’t lost a game at home in 1,489 days. That dates back to October 14, 2019, when South Carolina knocked off the Bulldogs. Since then, they’ve won 24 straight at Sanford Stadium. Maybe that gives a better example of the mountain Ole Miss is trying to climb.
What To Expect
This game can go a multitude of ways, and no one quite knows what to expect. And there’s good reason for that. As Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin stated earlier this week, “It’s kind of like playing with house money. What do we have to lose? Let’s just go take a shot.”
What that means is that Ole Miss is going to be willing to go all out. They’re pulling out all the stops. And when you get a guy like Kiffin doing that, you don’t know what to expect. There’s a chance Ole Miss gets run out of the building. There’s also a chance they possess the ball late in the fourth quarter with a chance to pull off the upset. We’ve seen both at times in big games during Kiffin’s career. We simply don’t know what to expect from the Rebels.
For Georgia, we know exactly what to expect. Smart, disciplined football. After all, that’s what Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart preaches week in and week out. It won’t be flashy, it probably won’t make headlines for being all that pretty, but they won’t make mistakes. They won’t beat themselves. And that’s why this game presents such a unique challenge for the Rebels.
Can the Ole Miss Offense Move the Ball?
Step one for Ole Miss is getting the offensive line to hold up against a good Bulldog front seven. The Georgia defense may not be as dominant as we’ve seen in years past, but they’re still extremely good. And at times this year, the Rebels offensive line has struggled. If they can give Jaxson Dart time to make reads and get the ball to the playmakers on the outside (Tre Harris, Jordan Watkins), then they have a chance. If they can’t, then it’s going to be a long day for everyone involved with Ole Miss athletics.
The other question is the running backs. We all know that Quinshon Judkins and Ulysses Bentley IV are talented, but can they be productive against the Bulldogs rush defense? On the season, Georgia is only giving up 100 yards per game on the ground. If Ole Miss ends under that number, they lose this game, and it likely won’t be close. If they can get to triple digits, they keep it close, with a chance to pull off the upset.
Can the Rebel Defense Get Pressure on Beck?
The next question becomes whether the Ole Miss defense can get off the field consistently. While the unit has improved this season, they do implement a “bend but don’t break philosophy”, and that oftentimes ends up relying on turnovers.
Against some teams, that may work. Against Georgia, it won’t.
The best part of the Rebel defense is their front seven. They have to be able to put pressure on Bulldog quarterback Carson Beck if they stand a chance in this one. If Beck has time to stand in and survey the field, he’s going to find an open receiver. There is no question about that.
They also have to slow down the run. Georgia is going to run for quite a few yards, but if they can be slowed down, this game could be fun. That’s especially true in the second half. Against Alabama earlier in the season, it was obvious that the Ole Miss defensive front got tired later in the game. That can’t happen in this one if they’re going to stand a chance.
The Ole Miss Secondary
In terms of the Rebel secondary, they’ve been shaky at times this season. And you know Georgia is looking to take advantage of that. Even with All-American tight end Brock Bowers likely still out due to injury (no official decision has yet been made), the Bulldogs have plenty of talent on the outside to offset the absence of their star.
The biggest question for the Rebels secondary is going to be how long they have to defend on any given play. If the Rebels front seven can get pressure on Beck and shorten plays, it makes the secondary’s job much easier. If they’re having to run around for six to eight seconds on every play, a Bulldog receiver will eventually end up open, and Beck doesn’t typically miss open receivers.
The Bottom Line and Prediction
In the end, this game is going to come down to how the Ole Miss offense moves the ball. In reality, the Rebel defense likely doesn’t have enough to slow Georgia down for four quarters. That means the Bulldogs hit at least 30 points in this one. So, if an upset is brewing on Saturday night, it’s going to have to come in a bit of a shootout.
And that doesn’t seem likely.
Even with Ole Miss throwing everything out, and playing free and loose football, expect them to come up just a bit short. In close games so far this season, the Rebels have had real success. But that success comes to an end this weekend.
Expect Georgia to hold a comfortable lead throughout, but a late Ole Miss touchdown makes the final look closer than the game was. It’s a hard-fought, physical contest, but at the end of the day, the Georgia winning streak stays intact.
Georgia 31, Ole Miss 23
