Ole Miss vs Georgia recap: 3 things we learned
Recapping what we learned from No. 23 Ole Miss’ 45-14 blowout win over No. 12 Georgia on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The No. 23 Ole Miss Rebels proved they aren’t out of the SEC race yet with a comfortable 45-14 win over the No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in Oxford.
After blowing a pair of three-touchdown leads in its first three games, Ole Miss got off to another great start with a quick 10-0 lead on a Derrick Jones pick six. That lead would grow to 31-0 by halftime, as Chad Kelly and the Rebels had seven pass plays of at least 20 yards in the first 30 minutes alone.
There would be no collapse this time, as Ole Miss scored on its opening drive of the third quarter and cruised to a blowout victory. Kelly averaged over 11 yards per pass attempt and accounted for over 300 total yards and three touchdowns.
A Rebels victory doesn’t come as a surprise, as Georgia has looked shaky even with a 3-0 start. Still, we learned a few things about both teams from Saturday’s game.
1. Don’t count the Ole Miss defense out just yet, thanks to some lineup changes
The box scores from both the Florida State and Alabama losses aren’t pretty for the Rebels defense, even if the Crimson Tide scored three non-offensive touchdowns. Still, Ole Miss has a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball, and it showed against Georgia.
Ole Miss was far superior to Georgia athletically and swarmed all over the field to hold the Bulldogs to total 396 yards, including 181 in the first half when it really mattered. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel could find no running room, particularly on the perimeter against the speedy Rebels defense, and quarterback Jacob Eason was pressured into some freshman mistakes.
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Georgia transfer Detric Bing-Dukes was all over the field in his first start at middle linebacker with seven tackles in the first half. Jones got his first action at cornerback after converting from wide receiver and the move paid off with his 52-yard interception return for a touchdown.
This game was vintage Land Shark defense, as Ole Miss lived in the Georgia backfield and rallied to the football with excellent speed. While Alabama may be out of reach in the SEC West, Ole Miss is very much still in contention for a major bowl if the defense can play like this for the rest of the year.
2. The Rebels have the most talented group of receivers in the nation, and it might not be close
Replacing the production of Laquon Treadwell and Cody Core figured to challenge Ole Miss this year, but the Rebels look even deeper at wide receiver in 2016, showing just how well Hugh Freeze has recruited at the skill positions.
Saturday’s game proved Ole Miss’ strong offensive effort against the Crimson Tide was more a product of its receivers and not a weakness in the Alabama secondary. Kelly had plenty of options down the field, with tight end Evan Engram leading the way.
Five different Ole Miss receivers had at least 38 receiving yards, including underclassmen DaMarkus Lodge and A.J. Brown. Junior Damore’ea Stringfellow has the most raw talent of the entire group and is yet to have a truly dominant game.
Much of that offensive core will be back next year, and freshman backup quarterback Jason Pellerin has looked solid in limited action, which should scare the rest of the SEC.
3. Kirby Smart has some work to do before Georgia is ready to compete in the SEC East.
Coming into the season, the SEC East looked to be a close race between Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. It appears the Bulldogs can be removed from that equation after a third consecutive ugly outing.
Eason’s stat line was ugly, as the freshman completed 16 of 36 passes for 137 yards and an interception. However, Georgia’s problems go way beyond that, as the Bulldogs struggled as a team outside of the running backs.
Both the offensive and defensive lines were shredded by Ole Miss, which isn’t shocking considering they struggled against Nicholls. Eason didn’t get any help, as the Bulldogs receivers have shown no ability to get open in the early season and tallied five drops in the first half alone.
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There may be no fix for Georgia in 2016, particularly on the offensive line, which returned four starters. Smart’s recruiting ability will be severely tested, as the Bulldogs need a lot of help in the trenches.