Charter members of the Southeastern Conference square off Saturday in Oxford, as the Ole MIss Rebels host the Georgia Bulldogs.
It’s one of the most highly anticipated games of the weekend and quite the tough ticket (and hotel room) for this mega showdown with high stakes in the SEC race, and beyond. Both had big wins this past Saturday.
Ole Miss is coming off a resounding, record setting victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks this past Saturday in Fayetteville. The Rebels won 63-31, highlighted by an electric passing performance. Stellar senior signal caller Jaxson Dart threw for 515 yards and six touchdowns, one of the best single game performances in Rebels history. Jordan Watkins was his favorite target, going for a school record 254 receiving yards and he tied the SEC mark with five touchdown catches.
Lane Kiffin’s Rebels are 7-2 on the season, 3-2 in the SEC. Were it not for a pair of game-on-the-line fourth down conversions by Kentucky and LSU, with Ole Miss leading, the Rebels would be undefeated. They are certainly still in the thick of the College Football Playoff race. Should Ole Miss win out against Georgia, Florida and Mississippi State, that should punch a CFP playoff ticket for the Red and Blue.
While the Rebels were celebrating the victory, having already touched down in Oxford from the 11 a.m. kickoff in Fayetteville, the Bulldogs were locked up in a bloody fist fight with arch rival Florida.
Georgia, which trailed 13-6 at the half, came from behind and beat the Gators 34-20. It is the Bulldogs fourth straight win in the series, the longest streak since Georgia won six in a row in Jacksonville from 1978 through 1983.
The Bulldogs are now 7-1 on the season, and 5-1 in the SEC. Georgia has won 53 of its past 56 games.
Turnovers continue to plague the Dogs. Georgia threw three interceptions in Jacksonville, and that’s 11 plus a lost fumble in the Bulldogs last five games. Georgia has thrown multiple interceptions in four of the last five games. But the Dogs survived in Jacksonville, with great fight and determination. Ultimately, it was a sensational interception from sophomore linebacker C.J. Allen, that set up the knockout blow touchdown.
Georgia leads the all-time series with Ole Miss 33-12-1. Last season in Athens, Georgia beat Ole Miss 52-17 in a top ten showdown. This will be the first meeting in Oxford since 2016. It was Kirby Smart’s first season at the Georgia helm, and the Rebels rolled past the Bulldogs 45-14, a game they led 31-0 at intermission.