Pat McAfee made sure Georgia didn’t get the full College GameDay treatment on Saturday.
With No. 2 Georgia set for a top-10 road test against No.
10 Ole Miss in Oxford, College GameDay passed on the matchup and instead headed to South Bend, IN, to build up Notre Dame’s showdown with No. 1 Miami.
Still, the crew spent plenty of time on the Bulldogs-Rebels clash, and when it came time to pick the game, Georgia had almost the entire panel behind it.
Almost.
Every member of the GameDay crew went with Georgia except McAfee, who took Ole Miss to pull the upset.
That lone pick stands out because Georgia is still the favorite in Vegas, sitting as a 3.5-point favorite. The GameDay panel mostly lined up with that view, but McAfee broke from the group and backed the Rebels.
It’s not exactly a wild call. Ole Miss has taken two of the last three meetings with Georgia, including a playoff win a season ago.
Trinidad Chambliss has also been a problem for the Bulldogs, dominating Georgia in both of his previous matchups against them. Now he gets them at home, which only adds to the intrigue around his day.
For Georgia, the stakes are straightforward. The Bulldogs are in full control of their path to the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff.
They’re one of only two one-loss teams in the SEC, and if they win out, they’re headed to Atlanta. A loss to Ole Miss would mean they’d need help elsewhere to get there.
The CFP picture is just as important. Georgia is No. 2 in the rankings, which gives them some cushion, but not a lot.
They can probably survive one more loss and still make the playoff. Two more?
That’s where the margin for error disappears.
Ole Miss has a different kind of pressure. The Rebels already have two losses, but they’re still sitting at No. 10 and remain in the playoff conversation.
A win over Georgia could put them in the driver’s seat for the SEC Championship Game. A loss, though, would likely knock them outside the top 12 and make a trip to Atlanta feel out of reach.
So yes, Georgia is the safer pick. But McAfee wasn’t interested in making it unanimous.
In Other News...
Georgia Could Get The Offensive Spark It Needs Vs Ole Miss
Georgias offense may be getting a timely boost ahead of its Nov. 7 matchup with Ole Miss, with running back Chauncey Bowens upgraded to probable after missing more than a month. Wide receiver Isiah Canion is also expected to return, marking his first appearance since Week 2 and giving the Bulldogs another option as they try to find more rhythm on that side of the ball.
Those two returns could matter in different ways for Georgia. Bowens adds depth and another running threat to a backfield that has had to adjust without him, while Canion gives the passing game a chance to expand its rotation at a moment when every healthy playmaker counts. With Ole Miss coming in, Georgia could use any extra spark it can get. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Thinks Georgia Found The Right Ole Miss Challenge In Practice
Georgia spent part of its preparation this week trying to make practice feel a little more like the real thing, and Kirby Smart said sophomore quarterback Hezekiah Millender helped provide that look. Millender has been running the scout team offense in a style similar to what Georgia expects from Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart Chambliss, giving the Bulldogs a chance to rehearse against a mobile, disruptive quarterback look before the matchup arrives.
Smart had plenty of respect for the challenge Ole Miss presents, and he made clear the Rebels quarterback is a difficult player to simulate. Millender, who has already appeared in two games this season as Georgias fourth-string quarterback and drew notice for his G-Day scrimmage performance, gave the Bulldogs a useful practice tool, but the real test still comes when the game lights come on and Georgia has to handle the full Ole Miss offense. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Faces A Brutal Oxford Test With SEC Pressure Rising
Georgias trip to Oxford arrives with plenty attached to it, starting with the No. 2 ranking the Bulldogs are carrying into a matchup that has a familiar edge. Ole Miss is No. 12, unbeaten at home in its last 16 games, and the setting at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has already been framed inside Georgias building as the kind of place where the noise, the timing and the stakes all tend to sharpen a game.
For Georgia, the backdrop is bigger than just another SEC road test. The Bulldogs know what happened there two years ago, and the conversation this week has centered on the challenge of handling a night-game atmosphere while keeping the offense on schedule around quarterback Gunner Stockton. With pressure rising in the conference race, this is the sort of game that can either steady a season or complicate it in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]