Category: UGA Football

OXFORD, Miss. — The No. 3-ranked Georgia football team fell to No. 16 Ole Miss, 28-10, on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Bulldogs went ahead 7-0 early but struggled to get much going against the Rebels after that, suffering a second regular-season loss for the first time since 2020.

The Rebels (8-2, 4-2 SEC) out-gained Georgia 397-245, averaging 6.2 yards per play to Georgia’s 3.8. Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck completed 20 of 31 passes for 185 yards, while the Georgia (7-2, 5-2) rushing attack was held to 76 yards on 31 attempts.

After playing three straight games away from Sanford Stadium, the Bulldogs return to Dooley Field next week when they host No. 7 Tennessee. The Volunteers will be the fifth Georgia opponent this season currently ranked in the College Football Playoff’s Top 25.

The Georgia defense got off to a great start, stopping Rebel quarterback Jaxson Dart for a 1-yard run on the first play, sacking him for a loss of 6 on the second play, and then safety Dan Jackson intercepted a Dart pass at the Rebel 34 and returned it 13 yards to the 21 on the third play.

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Up Next:

• The Bulldogs (7-2, 5-2 SEC) now face No. 7 Tennessee Saturday in Athens at 7:30 pm (ABC). UT (7-1, 4-1 SEC) is playing MSU tonight.
• With tonight’s 28-10 loss to No. 16 Ole Miss, the third-ranked Bulldogs have dropped two games in the regular season for the first time since 2020 when it finished 8-2, falling to Alabama on the road and UF in Jacksonville.

Summary Of The Offense:

• Georgia fell 28-10 as the Bulldogs finished 245 yards of offense.
• Ole Miss entered tonight leading the FBS in Sacks (41) while Georgia had surrendered just 10 sacks. Tonight, Georgia allowed five sacks.
• Georgia started the 2nd half with a 70-yard drive on nine plays in 5:16 that ended with a 23-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 16-10.
• At the half, Georgia trailed 16-7. OM came in ranked sixth in the FBS in Scoring Defense, allowing just 13.2 ppg.
• The Bulldogs have trailed after the first half now four times this season, all SEC games and are 2-2 in those contests. Georgia was down 6-3 at UK, 30-7 at #4 UA, 13-6 vs. UF in Jacksonville and now 16-7 at #16 OM). Georgia came back to beat UK 13-12, falling to UA 41-34 and beating UF 34-20 and lost tonight 28-10.
• Georgia went 21 yards in seven plays for a 7-0 lead on its first possession, converting a 4th-and-goal from the 2. The Bulldogs entered today tied for 2nd nationally in 4th Down Conversions at an SEC-best 85% (11-for-13 with 2 TDs). Georgia ended up 1-for-3 on 4th Downs tonight.
• After its first possession that resulted in a TD, Georgia punted on its final five of the first half. In the first half, senior QB Carson Beck was 6-for-10 for 49 yards. Beck finished the night 20-for-31 for 186 yards and one INT.
• Freshman Nate Frazier finished with a team-high 47 yards on 12 attempts with one score, coming on a 4th-and-goal play.

Defensive Review:

• Georgia held Ole Miss to five field goals on the night but fell 28-10.
• Georgia’s top tacklers were CJ Allen with eight while Malaki Starks and Jalon Walker had six.
• The Rebels answered Georgia’s field goal to start the 2nd half with an eight play, 75-yard TD drive for a 22-10 advantage with 6:10 left in the 3rd quarter.
• In the first half, OM led 16-7 on 229 yards of offense. The Rebels came in leading the SEC in scoring at 42.1 ppg.
• On the Rebels first possession, the Bulldogs registered a sack by Chaz Chambliss and Christen Miller. On the next play, senior Dan Jackson notched an INT on a tip by Jalon Walker and returned it 13 yards to the OM 21. It led to a TD on a 4th-and-goal from the 2 and a 7-0 lead.
• Senior Dan Jackson notched his 2nd INT of the year and fourth of his career. It was his first since the Alabama game this year and sixth for the Bulldogs.
• Down 7-0, the Rebels answered with a 75-yard drive in 10 plays with their backup QB Austin Simmons who was 5-for-6 for 64 yards on the drive.
• Ole Miss’s third possession began at the 50 with starting QB Jaxson Dart returning, and the Rebels were held to a 24-yard FG and a 10-7 lead.
• The Rebels managed a 43-yard field goal on its fourth possession to extend its lead to 13-7 with 12:12 left in the first half.
• On its fifth possession of the first half, Ole Miss made a 53-yarder with 2:55 left for a 16-7 advantage.

Special Teams In Action:

• Junior P Brett Thorson averaged 43 yards on four punts including placing one at the OM1. For the first time in 28 games (2022 at Miss. State), Georgia allowed a positive yard on a punt return as Micah Davis managed a two-yarder after a 48-yard punt in the first quarter. Coming in today, Georgia was the only FB team whose opponents had negative PR yards on the year at minus 10 on just four returns.
• With sophomore KOR/PR/WR Anthony Evans sidelined due to injury for the second straight game, Cash Jones, Dillon Bell and Michael Jackson III served as the KORs while Malaki Starks is likely the PR. Before last week’s UF game, Evans was the only Bulldog to have a PR or KOR this season.
• Sophomore PK Peyton Woodring had four points on a 23-yard field goal and one PAT plus handled kickoffs. Woodring is now 15-for-16 this year on field goals.

Points Off Turnovers:

• The Bulldogs got 7 points off one Rebel turnover. Georgia lost two fumbles and had one INT that did led to three points. The Bulldogs are minus three in Turnover Margin. Georgia has scored 55 points off 12 turnovers. Georgia’s opponents have scored 37 points off 15 turnovers.

Captains, Coin Toss And For Starters:

• Georgia’s captains were Dillon Bell, Ben Yurosek, Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams.
• Georgia won the toss and deferred the ball until the second half.
• Senior Tate Ratledge returned to start at right guard, his first start since the Kentucky game on Sept. 14. He missed the next four games with an ankle injury and then saw action last week versus Florida. Also of note, senior Smael Mondon Jr., saw his first action after missing the past four due to injury.
• Sophomore DE Jordan Hall saw his first action of the year after being sidelined due to injury.

This Saturday’s road game with the Rebels marks just the 17th trip to Oxford and the first since 2016. Overall, Georgia leads the series 33-13-1 including 10-6 in Oxford. The teams first met in 1940 in Athens, a 28-14 Rebel victory. Over the years, the teams have squared off in Memphis, Jackson and Atlanta along with the on campus contests.

Lately, it’s the Bulldogs with the upperhand as they have won 12 of the past 13 meetings. Georgia is 1-1 against Ole Miss under Kirby Smart. After a 3-0 start in 2016, the Rebels handed Smart and the Bulldogs their first loss, 45-14. It would be seven years before they met again. Last year, second-ranked Georgia whipped then ninth-ranked Ole Miss 52-17 on Senior Night Between the Hedges.

Georgia Versus Ole Miss Since 2016
2016 in Oxford: #23 Ole Miss d. #12 Georgia 45-14
2023 in Athens: #2 Georgia d. #9 Ole Miss 52-17

The Bulldog offense produced a season-high 611 yards on just 61 plays, extending a 28-14 halftime advantage into a 52-17 victory. Ole Miss struck first on its opening drive with a TD. The Bulldogs answered with a pair of first quarter scores for a 14-7 edge. The Rebels reached the end zone just once more in the second quarter before being held to a field goal in the second half.

Georgia’s Carson Beck finished 18-for-25 for 306 yards and two TDs while Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart went 10-for-17 for 112 yards and no TDs. The Bulldogs piled up 300 rushing yards on 35 attempts and were led by Kendall Milton (9-for-127, 2 TDs). Bulldog freshman CJ Allen led all tacklers with nine stops. Georgia’s senior class finished with a perfect 22-0 career record on Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium.

Second-ranked Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC) has its final road game of the regular season this Saturday at No. 16/12 Ole Miss before finishing with three games Between The Hedges. The Bulldogs have played an SEC-low three home games at this point of the season where they are 3-0. Georgia is 2-1 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites (Atlanta & Jacksonville) this year. Also of note, the traveling SEC road show “SEC Nation” will be in Oxford for this Saturday’s matchup. In their last true road game coming on Oct. 19, the Bulldogs knocked off top-ranked Texas 30-15 in front of a record crowd of 105,215 in Austin. Georgia entered the Texas game with 11 sacks on the season and tallied seven against the Longhorns plus had three fumble recoveries to give them five on the year.

After an open date, Georgia outlasted Florida 34-20 in Jacksonville this past Saturday. The Bulldogs trailed 13-6 at the half, and it was 20-all with 7:29 left in the contest when Georgia pulled away. The go-ahead scoring drive covered 75 yards in seven plays including two third down conversions, the last a 10-yard TD strike from Carson Beck to Dominic Lovett. The final score came after an impressive CJ Allen interception, the first of his career, set the Bulldogs up at the Gator 7.

Meanwhile, Ole Miss blasted Arkansas 63-31 in Fayetteville last Saturday to tie a school mark for most points ever against an SEC opponent, matching a 63-28 triumph over Vanderbilt in 1979. The Rebels tallied 694 yards of offense against Arkansas including a school record 562 passing yards by Jaxson Dart. His top target, Jordan Watkins, set school marks with 254 yards and five TDs on just eight catches. He scored twice from 62 yards and once from 66.

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