Georgia vs Ole Miss: Top-10 Clash Between the Hedges
by Chito Chibuye
Dawgs OTL Writer/ UGA Alumnus
Sanford Stadium will host yet another major matchup between the hedges. This time it’s the visiting team who will be ranked no. 5 as the Ole Miss Rebels head to the Classic City to take on the no. 9 Georgia Bulldogs. Kirby and the Dawgs will look to get their lick back against a team that dominated them in Oxford last year 28-10. Can Lane Kiffin keep this teams momentum going or can the Dawgs pick up a win to boost their playoff resume?
Scouting Report: Breaking Down Ole Miss vs Georgia
Make no mistake about it, all of the players that played in the Ole Miss game in 2024 remember it well and will have a chip on their shoulder come Saturday. This Ole Miss team is undefeated in 2025 at 6-0 and is tied with both Bama and A&M at 3-0 for the top spot in the SEC standings. They’ve won @ Kentucky (30-23), vs Ark (41-35), vs LSU* (24-19), and barely escaped Washington state at home last week (24-21). You can’t deny the impressive win over LSU [even if some extra motivation came from Lane’s daughter's boyfriend playing for the other team], but you can say that Ole Miss has NOT been tested on the road this year. I’m not taking anything away from them as Kiffin’s offense has been scolding hot this year. 20th in PPG (37.8), 5th in Total yds/pg (515), 8th in pass yds/pg (311), but also 112th in Turnover margin* (-4).
While most fans wills remember Austin Simmons who was the backup QB last year to Jaxson Dart who’s now starting for NY Giants, this year has been all dual-threat QB Trinidad Chambliss leading this potent offense and he’s had help. Kewan Lacy is 2nd in the SEC in rushing with 587 yds, and will look to have an impact after what Auburn did to this front 7. WRs Duece Alexander (20 Recs) and Harrison Wallace III (361 yds) are weapons the UGA secondary must account for, and TE Dae’Quan Wright is their biggest red zone threat with his 3TDs this year.
Keys to Victory for Georgia Football
It feels like Georgia has simply been surviving some of the bigger games in recent weeks, but if we can take advantage of several keys this week, I think there’s a statement win on the table.
1. Play Four Full Quarters
4Qs: Our coaching staff is by far the best in the country at making halftime adjustments, fixing things that went wrong, and getting players to make the necessary changes on the field. The only problem with that is THERE ARE 2 HALVES in a football game! You’d think it was illegal for this coaching staff to make a change after a failed drive or series, God forbid after one whole quarter of football. Things don’t always go your way in a game, all I’m asking is for a full game of consistent football not 1 quarter, not 1 half.. 4 quarters of Georgia Football from kickoff to 0:00 on the clock.
2. Win on Third Downs
3rd down conversions: 3rd downs continued to be a problem during the Auburn game which is a big reason why we had to come back in the first place. UGA converted 5/14 (35%) of their opportunities last week while allowing the Tigers to convert 8/17 (47%) of theirs. If protection can be better upfront, Bobo is going to have to allow Gunner to throw the ball past* the 1st down marker more often to give us a better chance to convert. Picking up 1st downs will also help us win Time of Possession and keep Ole Miss’s offense on the sideline where they belong.
3. Defend the Home Turf
Home vs. Road Performance: Alabama snapped our nation-best home game winning streak at 33 a couple weeks ago. We started a new one with a win over Kentucky and now it’s time to build on that. Sanford Stadium will be hosting College Gameday, striping out the stadium, and needs to be LOUD. We need to force false starts, unnecessary timeouts, and deafening noise to obstruct communication and keep this offense from finding any rhythm. Ole Miss is historically a much different team on the road then they are at home, and that should hold this Saturday too. Ole Miss beat us in Oxford last year, and in 2016. However, that win was vacated because that’s when Hugh Freeze (now Auburn’s coach) was buying strippers for his players and the NCCA scratched 33 wins over 6 seasons from the program! Before that Georgia won 10 straight games vs Ole Miss dating back to 97’. A solid performance from this Georgia team puts it in front of the line for the SEC and a playoff spot, and frankly Ole Miss does not need to win this game.
Separation Saturday: Playoff Picture and Prediction
Separation & Prediction: Don’t let that last sentence allude you. Ole Miss is not desperate to win this game, and the rest of their schedule is not bad at all. Kiffin is not going to lay down just because Kirby is a friend, but they know a loss to Georgia looks good to the committee and takes the “undefeated” pressure off of them and they still could end up in ATL for the SECCG. The Dawgs need to go and take this win and show that they belong. There are several games this week that will separate the top from the middle to the bottom of the conference and this is the type of game that the University of Georgia is normally successful in.
Go Dawgs.
Final Score Prediction: Georgia 30, Ole Miss 21
