OXFORD, Miss. - Pete Golding didn’t dress it up.
After No. 10 Ole Miss was steamrolled 42-7 by No. 2 Georgia on Saturday night at Vaught Hemingway Stadium, the Rebels’ coach called it exactly what it looked like.
“Hats off to Kirby and Georgia, that was a butt-whipping,” Golding said.
It was a rough night in every phase for Ole Miss, which saw its 16-game home winning streak come to an end. Golding pointed to the first snap as the tone-setter and said the game never really changed after that.
“Obviously very disappointing performance in all three phases, and it really started from the first play of the game and it didn’t stop.”
Ole Miss opened with a run that picked up just 1 yard before going three-and-out. Georgia answered immediately, with Nate Frazier breaking loose for a 46-yard run on the Bulldogs’ first offensive play to set up an opening touchdown drive. From there, the Bulldogs kept piling on, scoring touchdowns on their next two possessions and taking a 28-0 lead into halftime.
The night was supposed to be about the Ole Miss offense, but Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton took over instead. He finished 9 of 15 for 186 yards and four touchdown passes, and he also ran for another score.
Meanwhile, Trinidad Chambliss went 18 of 34 for 170 yards with one interception and never found much rhythm. Golding pulled him in the fourth quarter with Ole Miss trailing 42-7 and more than nine minutes left.
“I did not see that coming …. “
Golding, who took over the Ole Miss head coaching job when Lane Kiffin exited for the LSU job and led the Rebels to the CFP semifinals with two playoff wins, including a 39-34 Sugar Bowl quarterfinal win over Georgia, said the Bulldogs simply overwhelmed his team when it mattered most.
“We you don’t execute against really good football teams, that’s what it looks like,” Golding said. “We ween’t able to get much going, especially in the run game, and that’s what we talked about all week; if you can’t run the ball well, and you don’t stop the run and lose the turnover battle on top of it, it’s not going to be close, and it wasn’t.”
Georgia finished with 295 rushing yards, led by Frazier’s 16 carries for 107 yards. Ole Miss managed just 66 on the ground, and Chambliss was responsible for both Rebels turnovers, throwing an interception and losing a fumble. Georgia didn’t turn it over once.
The loss leaves Ole Miss at 6-3 and on the brink of College Football Playoff elimination, and Golding said the film session Sunday night should get everyone’s attention.
“This will be real easy to get their attention tomorrow night, it’s normally hard when you win a game and it’s an emotional game and you’re trying to tell them this isn’t good enough and we have to fix this,” Golding said. “They’re like ‘Coach we won, what are you talking about?’ (Well) we just got our ass beat, so they will be into this tape, and they don’t want to feel that away again in this type of game, that’s a Top 10 game.”
In Other News...
Georgia Just Put Serious Pressure On An SEC Playoff Contender
Ole Miss spent Saturday trying to protect its place in the SEC race, but Georgia left Oxford with a result that changed the conversation quickly. The Bulldogs rolled to a 42-7 win on the road, handing the Rebels a loss that not only knocked them to 6-3 overall but also sent a jolt through the playoff picture as the rankings shifted in the aftermath.
The fallout was immediate, with Ole Miss dropping to No. 19 in the AP Top 25 and No. 17 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, a slide that makes the path back to the College Football Playoff much tighter. The atmosphere around the game reflected the stakes too, as fans reacted to a lopsided afternoon that left the Rebels searching for answers and Georgia with a statement win that could echo well beyond one Saturday. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Just Landed A Massive Georgia Recruiting Surprise
Georgia just pulled off one of the biggest recruiting swings of the cycle, landing five-star offensive tackle Mark Matthews after he flipped from Texas A&M. The No. 2 overall recruit and top-ranked tackle had originally committed to the Aggies in May, then backed off that pledge before choosing the Bulldogs, giving Kirby Smart and his staff a major boost up front.
Smart made sure to celebrate the addition publicly on social media, a sign of how much this one matters for Georgia's future in the trenches. Matthews is expected to sign officially in early December, and until then the Bulldogs will keep working to make sure this surprise win turns into a finished deal. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Heads Into Missouri With One Troubling Injury Question
Georgias trip to Missouri comes with a familiar late-season concern: the health of a secondary that has had to keep adjusting on the fly. Cornerback Ellis Robinson has left the last two games early, first after a knee injury against Florida and then after a thigh or hip issue against Ole Miss, leaving Kirby Smart to sort through another week of uncertainty at a position where stability matters. Smart also addressed the status of wide receiver Craig Dandridge, running back Chauncey Bowens, tight end Elyiss Williams and safety Tyriq Green as the Bulldogs continue to manage a growing injury list.
There was at least one encouraging sign in the recent game, with wide receiver Isiah Canion back from injury, even if his workload was limited. Still, Robinsons availability looms as the biggest question heading into Missouri, especially with Georgia trying to keep its defense intact while navigating a stretch where depth is being tested across multiple spots. [Read more 🡒]