Rebels struggle in top ten Georgia match-up

In front of a sold out Athens crowd, Ole Miss struggled in their top ten match-up against the Georgia Bulldogs. The Rebels went down 52-17, while having offensive and defensive frailties exposed.

It was an electric start in the top ten game between Georgia and Ole Miss, from the home crowd and the Rebels offense. After an overthrown ball from Dart, that likely would have been a TD for Dayton Wade, the offense moved the ball quickly.  They went 75 yards on 9 plays, with Quinshon Judkins rushing home on a 15 yard TD.

Georgia answered on their first possession of the game, with a rushing TD of their own, Daijun Edwards getting home around the edge.

The Rebels could not answer straight back, turning the ball over on downs. Lane Kiffin was 1 from 2 on 4th down calls inside the first 10 minutes of the game. The plan was obvious, with the Ole Miss defense struggling to stop the Georgia offense in the first half.

That showed on the next drive when the Bulldogs went 60 yards on 3 plays, getting their second touchdown via Ladd McConkey. The Pete Golding bend but don’t break attitude wasn’t working early on.

Luckily, the Rebels offense came to play early, after big catch from Wade and then a PI call on him, Ole Miss were in the Georgia red zone again. Judkins grabbed his second TD of game, with the sophomore running back key to a lot that was going right on offense for Kiffin’s team.

However, the  Rebels defense broke again, giving up a big play to McConkey, getting Georgia back in the red zone. Not to be out done by Judkins, Edwards went in for his second rushing TD. 21-14 to the Bulldogs, with both offenses taking turns to land shots. But who would falter first?

It was Georgia who landed a couple of hooks on the next two possessions. First, the defense forced a 3 and out, then the RB Kendall Milton barrelled home for a TD.

The Ole Miss defensive front were struggling to stop the run, missing tackles and allowing yardage on every run. DC Pete Golding needed to find answers, and very quickly.

One thing they didn’t need was to be back on the field again before the half. That was the case, with Jaxson Dart being picked off on a bad throw towards Dayton Wade. However, the defense stepped up with an interception of their own from Daijahn Anthony, keeping Ole Miss 2 scores behind the Bulldogs at the half.

At the start of the second half, Ole Miss got what they needed, forcing a 3 and out for the Georgia offense. However, the offensive line injuries were taking it’s toll on the Rebels, struggling to give Dart time in the pocket.

Kiffin knew that he had to be gutsy with his play calling. Going for a fake punt call to get the first down. However, the Rebels couldn’t capitalize on the positive play.

The task got tougher for Ole Miss, with Kendall Milton going in for a 33 yard rushing TD. 35-14 and a long way back now for the Rebels, with the punishment taking it’s toll on the mentality. It was starting to look like a very one sided top ten ranked clash.

After an impressive start to the game, everything took backwards steps. One thing that wasn’t on show through the game, was the usually dominant Ole Miss pass rush, struggling to lay a glove on QB Carson Beck.

The defense allowed Georgia to march down the field again. However, this time the secondary made some coverage plays, holding the opposition to a field goal.

If the evening wasn’t already on a downhill trend, Jaxson Dart exited the game with what looked like a shot to the head area. Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders took over for the remainder of the game.

After the 3rd quarter dwindled out, Georgia added their sixth touchdown of the day in the 4th, with Beck finding Brock Bowers in the centre of the end zone. It was Bowers first game back after undergoing ankle surgery around 27 days ago.

Ole Miss added a field goal to reduce the deficit to 28 points. That was soon extended to 35 points with the back-ups moving the ball down the field easily for Georgia. This time RB Andrew Paul getting home on the ground.

The final minutes passed by without any notable moments, which I’m sure the Rebels were thankful about.

Lot’s to digest for the team, with the SEC West chances disappearing earlier, then a bad performance in a top ten match-up. Kiffin will need to pick the team up heading into the final two games of the season. They don’t want the season to end negatively.