The Ole Miss defense gives the No. 16 Rebels a huge win over No. 3 Georgia

No. 16 Ole Miss earned its biggest win of the Lane Kiffin era and boosted its College Football Playoff hopes with a 28-10 win over No. 3 Georgia on Saturday.

Georgia’s comeback hopes faded with 7:22 left when Carson Beck was intercepted on fourth down. The Bulldogs tried on fourth-and-10 at the Ole Miss 27-yard line, but Beck’s pass was deflected before John Saunders Jr. intercepted it and slid wide onto the turf as Georgia players rushed toward him.

The Ole Miss offense then sealed the game when Jaxson Dart stepped up despite battling a left ankle injury for most of the game. Dart broke off a 28-yard run on the ensuing possession as the Rebels tied the game with a field goal, putting Georgia behind by 15 with 3:22 left.

It is the first home win over a team ranked in the top two of the AP Top 25 in Ole Miss history and the first time since a loss that Georgia (7-2, 5-2 SEC) has beaten an SEC Team outside of Alabama has lost to Florida in 2020.

The Ole Miss fans were so excited about the win that they stormed the field a little too early. Students and fans streamed across the field with 16 seconds left as the Bulldogs still had the ball. The conclusion of the game had to be postponed so that fans could be cleared from the pitch before a final.

The fans finally had the chance to celebrate on the field.

Ole Miss’ defense dominated

The Rebels (8-2, 4-2) were embarrassed in Athens in 2023. A season ago, Georgia amassed over 600 total yards and ran for 300 yards in a 52-17 victory over an Ole Miss team ranked seventh, lower than the Bulldogs at No. 9 in the CFP rankings.

This game was an offseason focus for Ole Miss. Lane Kiffin made a point of bolstering his defensive line through the transfer portal, adding players like Princely Umanmielen from Florida and Walter Nolen from Texas A&M.

The offseason improvement at the top was evident. The Rebels entered the game leading the SEC in sacks and added five more to their tally on Saturday. The pass rush was constantly in Beck’s face – especially on the left side of the Georgia line – and the Bulldogs were also unable to get anything going on the ground.

Less than a year ago, Georgia averaged nearly 10 yards per carry in this matchup. On Saturday, the Bulldogs ran 33 times for 59 yards after accounting for sacks.

Darts comeback

The game couldn’t have started much worse for Ole Miss. Dart was sacked on the second play of the game because his left foot turned outward when he was tackled. On third down, Dart had a defender in his face and failed to field a throw that sailed into the arms of Georgia’s Dan Jackson after Dart’s arm was hit.

The senior QB limped off the field to the locker room as Georgia quickly took a 7-0 lead.

Freshman Austin Simmons replaced Dart on the second drive of the game, leading Ole Miss to a TD. But Dart came back from the locker room and played the rest of the game.

He also played well despite being significantly limited. Dart ended up being Ole Miss’ leading rusher and was 13 of 22 passing for 199 yards and a TD to Juice Wells.

How good is Georgia’s offense?

A cursory look at Georgia’s offensive stats shows that the offense wasn’t bad by any means. The Bulldogs are still averaging more than six yards per play this season and their quarterbacks have completed two-thirds of their passes.

But Georgia’s offense has struggled against the SEC’s top teams, aside from an explosive second half against Alabama. And it was particularly prone to fluctuation.

The Bulldogs turned the ball over four times against the Crimson Tide and had three turnovers against Texas. The Bulldogs rolled over three times again on Saturday, as Beck had a fumble in that interception and running back Nate Frazier also fumbled.

Beck has failed to live up to his Heisman candidacy from the previous season, and it’s clear that Georgia’s offense could use an explosive playmaker or two. There’s no Ladd McConkey, no Brock Bowers or George Pickens intercepting passes, and Frazier and Trevor Etienne haven’t replicated the brutal ground game we’ve seen from the Bulldogs in recent seasons.

But the playoffs are still within the Bulldogs’ sight if Georgia can bounce back with a home win over No. 7 Tennessee in Week 12.