No. 10 Ole Miss will welcome No. 2 Georgia to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium this Saturday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. for a pivotal Week 10 game. The playoff-hopeful Rebels (6-2) cannot afford another loss this season. The Bulldogs (7-1) gained an ugly home loss to Auburn but are still the top team in the SEC.
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the country. He has thrown for 1,671 yards and 16 touchdowns on a 72% completion percentage. He has just four interceptions.
Head coach Pete Golding spoke about Stockton in a press conference on Nov. 2.
“(Stockton) has competitive character. You see his toughness on tape, but more importantly than those two things, he’s an elite game-manager,” Golding said. “(He) doesn’t press. (He) doesn’t try to do too much. (He) has a really good understanding of their system and takes what the defense gives him.”
Behind a Bulldog offensive line that has allowed just nine sacks this season, running back Dwight Phillips Jr. has rushed for 415 yards and two scores. Nate Frazier has 302 rushing yards and six touchdowns.Utah
In the receiving game, Craig Dandridge leads the team in yards with 349 and one touchdown. Talyn Taylor and London Humphreys are tied for the most receiving touchdowns with three each. Tight end Lawson Luckie is also a major receiving threat. He has nearly 200 yards and two scores this season.
Last year in Athens, Ga., Ole Miss did not force a Georgia punt in a 43-35 loss. Stockton threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns, adding 59 yards and a score on the ground. The Rebels simply could not contain him. Moreover, five Bulldog rushers combined for 221 rushing yards, while Ole Miss managed 88.
A few months later in the Sugar Bowl, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss went for 362 passing yards and two touchdowns. He only ran for 14 yards on four attempts, but his legs prolonged plays. Georgia could not bring him down.
Photo by Olivia Cangelosi
While Ole Miss allowed 34 points, seven of those came from a defensive scoop-and-score late in the second quarter. The Rebel defense improved from its regular season matchup against the Bulldogs, only allowing 124 yards on the ground and 343 total yards, compared to 510 in the first game.
This Week 10 matchup is going to come down to two things: Chambliss recreating his Sugar Bowl performance and the ground game. Ole Miss will look to establish the run and stop Georgia’s running backs.
In the Rebels’ two losses this season, they have failed to control the running game. Against Florida, they allowed 302 yards, and they allowed 207 against Texas. Offensively, Ole Miss managed just 113 yards against the Longhorns and 128 against the Gators.
Chambliss played two great games against the Bulldogs last season. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart praised Chambliss in a press conference on Nov. 2.
“It’s the down-in, down-out decision-making … (and) the accuracy that (Chambliss is) elite at,” Smart said. “He has an anticipation of windows that’s probably unmatched. I don’t know if that was God-given or the fact that he played a lot of football before he got to Ole Miss.”
Smart also said that Chambliss is an elite athlete.
“(Chambliss) goes forwards (and) backwards as fast as he goes sideways,” Smart said. “He’s just a great athlete that is a great quarterback.”
