Behind a Swarming Defense, Ole Miss Football Takes Down No. 3 Georgia

OXFORD, Miss. – (Release) No. 3 Georgia had no answer for the elite pass rush of No. 16 Ole Miss football as the Rebels dominated the Bulldogs 28-10 in front of a record crowd of 68,126 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

The massive win for Lane Kiffin and his squad puts the Rebels (8-2, 4-2) squarely in a chaotic race for the College Football Playoff. Jaxson Dart led an Ole Miss offense that scored on seven of its 10 drives, including a key touchdown strike in the third quarter to Antwane Wells Jr. to put the home team ahead by two scores.

From there, the Ole Miss pass rush snuffed out all hopes of a Georgia comeback. The Rebels finished with five sacks, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles and four QB hurries as they disrupted Carson Beck and the Bulldogs offense all night.

Offensive Leaders

Jaxson Dart finished 13-for-22 with 249 total yards (199 passing, 50 rushing) and one key touchdown strike late to Antwane Wells Jr.Cayden Lee and Jordan Watkins led the receiving efforts with four catches apiece for 81 and 68 yards, respectively. Ulysses Bentley IV notched 66 all-purpose yards on 13 carries and four catches with one rushing TD.

Defensive Leaders

TJ Dottery led the tackling efforts with 10, trailed closely by Chris Paul Jr., who had nine and a QB hurry. Jared Ivey led all D-linemen with seven tackles, including two sacks, adding a forced fumble and breaking up two passes. Princely Umanmielen was a key force in the win with two sacks, a QB hurry and a forced fumble. Suntarine Perkins had a fumble recovery, a sack and three QB hurries.

First Quarter

The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Rebels when Jaxson Dart hit a defender on his follow-through and Georgia’s Dan Jackson intercepted the pass to send it to the Bulldogs at the Ole Miss 21-yard line. The Rebel defense appeared to hold in response, but Georgia gambled and cashed in on 4th-and-goal with a 2-yard touchdown run by Nate Frazier to make it 7-0 early.

Dart checked out with an apparent ankle injury, sending Austin Simmons into action. The Rebel offense didn’t miss a beat, as Simmons went 5-for-6 for 64 yards, converting 4th-and-1 and 3rd-and-7 through the air before Ulysses Bentley IV punctuated the impressive drive with a strong 9-yard touchdown run to tie it at seven.

UGA was flagged for illegal formation to start the ensuing drive, and a Zxavian Harris tackle-for-loss set the Bulldogs further behind the sticks, leading to a punt. Dart returned to action and hit long passes to Dae’Quan Wright and Caden Prieskorn before the Rebels settled for a go-ahead 33-yard field goal by Caden Davis, the first of a perfect 5-for-5 day for the Rebel kicker.

Georgia faced 3rd-and-4 on its next drive and nearly converted, but a hard hit by John Saunders Jr. dislodged a Carson Beck-to-Landon Humphreys connection and forced another punt to seal a 10-7 Ole Miss lead through one.

Second Quarter

JJ Pegues burst ahead for nine yards to convert on 3rd-and-1 just out of the quarter break, but a Rebel dump-off pass on the next play was dropped for a 7-yard loss, forcing them to settle for another field goal, and Davis hit from 43 yards out to make it 13-7.

A Jared Ivey sack appeared to halt the following Georgia drive shy of midfield, but a holding call against Saunders extended the action. Saunders made up for it with a third-down tackle-for-loss later in the drive, thought the ensuing Georgia punt went out of bounds inside the 1-yard line.

Ole Miss escaped the dangerous field position when Dart delivered a dart to Jordan Watkins for 16 yards to convert on 3rd-and-10. Then the duo connected for 33 yards on the following play down to midfield. That set up another Davis field goal, this one a 53-yard bomb with room to spare despite the rain to make it a two-score lead, 16-7.

Georgia moved the chains on back-to-back plays to start its next drive, looking to cut into the lead, but Princely Umanmielen dropped Beck for an 8-yard loss on third down to force a fourth consecutive punt.

Ole Miss outgained Georgia 229-69 in the first half, the Rebels with at 195 through the air and 34 on the ground, limiting the Bulldogs to 49 yards passing, 20 rushing, six first downs and just 2.5 yards per play. The Rebel defense had two sacks and five tackles-for-loss in the first half.