No. 3 Bulldogs fall 28-10 at No. 16 Ole Miss

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.

Georgia’s offense took full advantage of the turnover. Trevor Etienne ran the ball four times in a row to get to the Rebel 4. Later, on fourth-and-goal at the 2, Nate Frazier ran the ball in on the right side for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 10:32 left in the opening quarter.

Austin Simmons took over at quarterback for Ole Miss on its second drive and led the Rebels 75 yards for a touchdown. The Rebels converted a fourth-and-1 at the Georgia 44 and later scored on a 9-yard run by Ulysses Bentley, tying the game with 6:53 to play in the first.

Dart returned to the field for the Rebels’ third drive and led them down to the UGA 6-yard line, where the Bulldogs forced Ole Miss to settle for a 33-yard Caden Davis field goal and a 10-7 Rebel lead with 3:01 on the clock.

The Rebels added a 43-yard Davis field goal with 12:12 left in the half to push their lead to 13-7. Ole Miss later got a 53-yard Davis field goal to make it 16-7 with 2:55 to play until halftime. At the half, Ole Miss had 229 yards of offense to just 69 for the Bulldogs.

Georgia opened the second half with a 70-yard drive that included four plays of at least 12 yards, but the Bulldogs ultimately had to settle for a 23-yard Peyton Woodring field goal that cut the Rebels’ lead to 16-10.

Ole Miss answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 10-yard pass to Antwane Wells in the back of the end zone. Georgia stopped the two-point attempt, holding the Rebels’ lead to 22-10 with 6:10 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs’ next drive included a pair of 8-yard runs by Frazier and a 20-yard completion to Dominic Lovett, but the Rebels were able to strip the ball out of Frazier’s hands on a screen pass and recover the fumble at the Ole Miss 29. However, the Bulldog defense held firm and forced the Rebels to punt.

After being held to 69 yards in the first half, Georgia gained 138 in the third quarter, but only managed a field goal. The Bulldogs had the ball as the fourth began and moved the ball down to the Rebel 27, but a fourth-and-10 Beck pass was tipped and intercepted with 7:22 left in the game.

Ole Miss added a 25-yard Davis field goal with 3:22 remaining to extend the Rebels’ lead to 25-10. Ole Miss sacked and stripped Beck on Georgia’s next drive, recovering the fumble at the Georgia 19. The Rebels tacked on a 32-yard Davis field goal with 1:11 remaining to make it 28-10.

Linebacker CJ Allen led the Georgia defense with eight tackles and two QB hurries.

POST-GAME NOTES

*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.