There’s plenty in Ole Miss’ profile that should make Georgia fans uneasy, but the Rebels aren’t exactly a flawless juggernaut either. The numbers tell a messy story.
Ole Miss is sitting 10th in the CFP rankings and has lived around the top 10 all season, yet the defense has been a problem in plenty of spots. The Rebels rank 113th in third-down defense, 94th in first-down defense, 101st in passing yards allowed, 129th in time of possession and 97th in total defense.
They’ve also been bottom quartile in every penalty category and have thrown nine interceptions. That’s a lot of leakage for a team that keeps showing up near the top of the rankings.
At the same time, Georgia has reasons to feel better about itself than it did after the Auburn game. There was clear improvement Saturday in the Benz, especially in the way the defense handled third downs.
Unlike that Auburn game, there weren’t any disastrous 3rd down, 15-yard penalties that kept drives alive. The one ugly moment came on fourth down, when the pass interference penalty on Khalil Barnes helped Florida extend their record streak of not experiencing a shutout.
What should really catch Georgia’s eye is how Ole Miss has handled the run. The Rebels have been shaky there, ranking 13th in the conference against the run, and the results have swung wildly from week to week.
Florida ran for 302 yards on them. Two weeks later, Missouri managed only 39 against that same front.
Texas, meanwhile, piled up 207. Then last week Ole Miss clamped down on Auburn and held the Tigers to 63 rushing yards and fewer than 2.5 yards per carry.
If Georgia’s passing game still isn’t clicking - and it hasn’t clicked in a month of Sundays - there may still be room to lean on the ground game.
But the trip to Vaught-Hemingway brings its own set of concerns, and the first one is simple: red-zone defense may not save Georgia here. Ole Miss has been excellent once it gets close.
The Rebels have scored 30 times in 31 red-zone trips and are finding the end zone 84% of the time, compared with Georgia’s 77% touchdown conversion rate. Trinidad Chambliss is a big part of that, with 2,200 passing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, most on the team.
He can hurt defenses in multiple ways, whether it’s on bootlegs, scrambles after being flushed, sneaks or QB power.
Field position is another issue. Georgia has started inside its own 15-yard line 11 times over the last three games, and the trend has been ugly enough to notice.
Last week followed the same pattern: outside of Florida turnovers, Georgia wasn’t winning the hidden-yardage battle. The Bulldogs started four times inside their own 20 on 10 possessions and only one of those drives ended in points.
Florida, by comparison, started inside its 20 only three times. Two of those came on kickoff returns, including one pushed back by a holding penalty, and the other came after a Georgia punt.
Miller hasn’t been pinning teams deep often, and that matters when an offense is already struggling to string drives together. Long fields invite mistakes, and Ole Miss would gladly turn this into a shootout.
And if you want the other side of the Rebels’ success, it’s right there in the efficiency numbers. Ole Miss ranks 13th nationally in first-down offense and 15th in third-down conversions.
The passing game is 19th nationally and second in the SEC. The Rebels are also 4th nationally in sacks allowed and 12th in tackles for loss allowed, with Chambliss doing a good job of avoiding negative plays.
Even the punting game is strong, as Ole Miss ranks 4th in the country in net punting in case the offense stalls.
The concern is real, but so is the case for Georgia. The question is whether the Bulldogs can make Ole Miss play left-handed long enough to matter.
In Other News...
Georgia Heads To Ole Miss With Key Availability Questions
Georgias first availability report for the Ole Miss game offered a clearer picture of who is trending toward playing, but it still left a few important pieces unsettled. Wide receiver Isiah Canion was listed as probable, while running back Chauncey Bowens was among six Georgia players tagged questionable. Outside linebacker Amaris Williams was ruled out, and cornerback Ellis Robinson IV along with running back Dwight Phillips Jr. were not listed after leaving the previous game.
For Georgia, the report matters because this trip to Ole Miss already carries enough weight without added uncertainty in the lineup. The Rebels have their own long list of availability concerns, with nine players ruled out and several more sitting in the questionable or probable range, so both sides are heading into the matchup with some moving parts still to sort through before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Suddenly Has A Depth Concern Ahead Of Ole Miss
Georgias latest availability report brought a little more uncertainty into the buildup for Ole Miss, with receiver Isiah Canion no longer on the list after initially being marked probable. The Bulldogs also enter the week with several players sitting in the questionable column, including Thomas Blackshear, Chauncey Bowens, Elyiss Williams, Joseph Jonah-Ajonye and AJ Kruah, leaving the staff to sort through a few moving parts as the matchup gets closer.
Amaris Williams has already been ruled out, and the SEC will continue to update the report before kickoff, so this is not a finished picture yet. Even so, the timing matters for Georgia, which would prefer a cleaner injury sheet going into a game where depth can be tested quickly and every available body becomes part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Heads Into A Revenge Game With Playoff Pressure Rising
Saturday night brings a familiar kind of pressure for Georgia, with Ole Miss coming to town for a 7:30 p.m. EST kickoff on ABC. The Bulldogs are favored by 3.5 points at DraftKings Sportsbook, which says plenty about how tight this one is expected to be, and it also says plenty about the stakes. Gunner Stockton will be under the spotlight for Georgia, while Ole Miss will lean on Trinidad Chambliss in a matchup that has already taken on a little extra edge because of what happened the last time these teams met.
For Georgia, this is about more than just settling a score. Ole Miss has beaten the Bulldogs before, and another loss would make the playoff picture a lot less forgiving as rankings pressure starts to build. The game is also available on the ESPN app and Fubo TV, but for Georgia fans, the real focus is simple enough: a close SEC game with a chance to answer back, and a result that could shape how the committee views the Bulldogs when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]