OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss lost its third game of the year Saturday night in what was a playoff-like matchup against Georgia at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The, 42-7, dismantling loss drops Ole Miss’ record to 6-3 (4-3) and removes the control the Rebels had of their College Football Playoff destiny.
Georgia set the tone early in Oxford. The Bulldogs forced a familiar three-and-out for Ole Miss on the game’s opening drive, then followed its defense’s lead by bursting out of the gates with a 46-yard pickup from Nate Frazier to ignite an early 7-0 lead.
Georgia managed to put the game away early, scoring a touchdown on four of its six first half possessions to lead 28-0, paving the way for Ole Miss fans to hit the exits at the break.
Here are our instant takeaways immediately following the Rebels’ Week 10 loss.
Couldn’t limit the run
Georgia entered the week as one of the SEC’s top rushing teams, averaging 190 rushing yards per game through eight games. It was going to be an unrealistic task for Ole Miss to completely shut down the Bulldogs’ ground game, but not an impossible task to at least limit.
Ole Miss wasn’t able to resemble any type of resistance on any meaningful carry, getting pushed around up front all night. In the first half alone, Georgia racked up 183 rushing yards on 24 total carries between four runners, as Nate Frazier led the way with 89. The Bulldogs’ dominant run game set up a passing attack that only desired to throw 10 times through two quarters and attempt a total of 15 passes on the night.
Georgia finished the game with 48 carries for 295 rushing yards, averaging 6.1 yards per attempt.
No offensive rhythm
It was the same start, just a different week for the Ole Miss offense.
However, the Rebels got off to another slow offensive start that the unit never seemed to overcome, unlike other weeks throughout the season.
Ole Miss’ most productive drive, when the game was within reach, came late in the first quarter when the Rebels moved 36 yards in nine plays with the drive resulting in a missed a field goal. That speaks for itself.
The other seven of Ole Miss’ first eight drives (10 total) resulted in a punt (five) or turnover (two).
Going into the locker room trailing 28 points, Ole Miss was out-gained by 196 total yards. John David Baker’s offense would go on to complete the game with just 186 passing yards and 66 rushing yards.
The Rebels’ offensive line didn’t do the unit many favors either against Georgia. Through eight games Ole Miss had given up just six sacks, but the Bulldogs managed to nearly match that season total with five Saturday night.
No positives
Sometimes in losses there is a silver lining. Saturday night’s loss for Ole Miss was not one of those games.
Ole Miss’ only points of the game came in its second-to-last drive of the night, after trailing by 35 points. Going into the weekend, it felt like a make-or-break game for the Rebels and had the atmosphere of a home playoff game through most of the first two quarters.
However, the loss now likely puts Ole Miss’ chances of returning to the College Football Playoffs on ice, and eviscerates the major goals the Rebels had set out for themselves entering the season with high expectations.
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