The Georgia Bulldogs (7-2, 5-2 in SEC) had a lot to prove coming into an away matchup versus the Ole Miss Rebels (7-2, 4-2 in SEC). Despite some great wins versus the Clemson Tigers and Texas Longhorns, who are two teams in College Football’s latest top 25 rankings, Georgia’s lost against Alabama and looked sloppy against Kentucky, Florida, and Mississippi State, three teams near the bottom of the SEC.
No one knew which version of the Bulldogs fans were going to see, but people were expecting the championship contender they looked like against Texas.
Safe to say, that didn’t happen. Georgia was defeated again in an ugly 28-10 loss. Despite what looks like a blowout score, this game was actually close. Georgia started with a 7-0 lead. Unfortunately, the offense shut down essentially the rest of the way. They couldn’t get anything going in the first half, and while the second half was bettter, but turnovers doomed Georgia.
Despite a fumble by Nate Frazier, Georgia was driving with 7:30 left in the fourth quarter of a 22-10 game, but on the 4th down try, Carson Beck’s pass was intercepted, and Ole Miss went down the field to kick a field goal with 3:25 left to make it 25-10. On the next drive, Beck was strip sacked and Ole Miss used the great field position to kick a field goal to reach the final score of 28-10.
Carson Beck wasn’t as turnover prone as past games, but he was too hesitant, only racking up 186 yards and an interception on 31 passing attempts. Of course, his offensive line did him no favors, allowing five sacks, including the strip sack.
The all-reliable running game was also rendered obsolete in this one. Trevor Etienne was sparingly used since he was dealing with an injury, but Nate Frazier didn’t succeed in his first taste as a lead back. Despite scoring a touchdown, he only had 47 yards on 12 carries and fumbled the ball twice, once recovered by the Ole Miss defense. Overall, the running game had just 59 yards on 33 carries, a dreadful 1.8 yards per attempt.
The defense was also weaker in this one. Although they were solid in the red zone, they still allowed seven scoring drives. Ole Miss gunslinger Jaxson Dart suffered an injury in the first quarter, but was quietly efficient. He threw for just 199 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, but it was only on 22 attempts, as he was aiming for more deep in-breaking routes. Austin Simmons was also efficient in backup, with 64 passing yards on just six attempts.
This loss puts Georgia at 7-2, with their SEC championship ambitions on life support. Next week’s game against No. 7 Tennessee is essentially a do-or-die game, and even if they win, they’d need one of Texas A&M/Texas (these two play each other for the final week of the season), Ole Miss, or Alabama to lose another game down the stretch. If they lose, Georgia could be out of the College Football Playoff and finish outside of the top ten for the first time in recent seasons.
Here are four takeaways from this matchup:
Quarterback Carson Beck couldn’t get in a rhythm
There should be some blame on offensive coordinator Mike Bobo for this loss. After all, the team only racked up 245 total yards. However, Carson Beck still couldn’t get in a rhythm. Even with a more cautious approach, he wasn’t able to get anything going.
Beck had just 49 passing yards by halftime and in the second half he had an interception and a fumble. Beck now has 12 interceptions against SEC opponents (seven games), the most by any quarterback in a seven-game span since former Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral in 2019. Sure, it’s not entirely his fault, but as the driver of the offense, he could afford to be more careful with the ball.
Offensive line was not effective
Unfortunately for Beck, the Georgia Bulldog offensive line did not show up. They easily had their worst game of the season, allowing five sacks for 40 yards lost. Not only did they let up in pass protection, their run blocking was flawed too, with Georgia running backs picking up a combined 1.8 yards per attempt. Even with several adjustments and tackle rotations, nothing worked.
Ole Miss was coming into this game leading the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss, but Georgia’s offensive line has always been strong. In this game, they had their worst showing in years.
Turnovers killed Georgia
The offense had a fast start with a 7-0 lead off of a Jaxson Dart pick, but it was fool’s gold, as Georgia punted on every other drive in the first half while Ole Miss racked up 16 unanswered points.
However, Georgia’s offense finally woke up for a few drives, kicking a field goal and driving down the field again down 10-22, but freshman running back Nate Frazier fumbled the ball in Ole Miss territory. On their next drive, UGA got the ball again in Ole Miss territory, but on a fourth down try, Carson Beck’s pass was tipped an intercepted.
Even if Georgia were to kick field goals on both of those drives, they would’ve only been down by one score (22-16), but the turnover game made it out of reach for Georgia. It not only killed momentum on some drives, but it also made the defense’s job harder.
Georgia in danger of missing playoffs
What a difference a week makes. Georgia looked in prime position to be the home team in the SEC championship. Now, they’re in no-mans land in the SEC standings.
Georgia is currently behind Texas A&M, Texas, and Tennessee, and they’re only ahead of Ole Miss and Alabama due to playing just one more SEC game.
Only Tennessee and Texas have a better record than the Bulldogs. If Georgia beats Tennessee, then they’ll be more in the fold. However, Ole Miss and Alabama would have the tiebreaker over them with their wins against Georgia over the year.
There is a lot riding on this matchup against Tennessee. If Georgia wins this game, then Tennessee would be in the pile of two-loss teams, potentially putting Georgia ahead of them, but if Georgia loses, then thate could be the nail in the coffin for their College Football Playoff hopes.