Maybe the only thing higher than the stakes for Saturday’s matchup between No. 2 Georgia and No. 12 Ole Miss was the level of mutual respect between Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart and Rebels coach Pete Golding.
“Pete has done a tremendous job,” Smart said before the SEC showdown. Meanwhile, Golding called Smart and his staff “the gold standard in college football.”
But once the game began, Georgia quickly turned the highly anticipated matchup into a one-sided affair. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-0 lead, carried a 28-0 advantage into halftime and extended it to 35-0 in the third quarter.
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Georgia cruised to a 42-7 win over Ole Miss in Oxford on Saturday night, handing the Rebels their largest home loss since 2018. That year, Ole Miss fell 62-7 to Alabama, then the top-ranked team in the country under coach Nick Saban.
Ole Miss fans’ frustration boiled over after officials called pass interference against the Rebels with just over five minutes left in the second quarter. Ole Miss trailed 21-0 when some fans began throwing trash and bottles onto the field.
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton threw four touchdown passes through the first three quarters. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss did not throw a touchdown and was intercepted once.
An 8-yard run by Ole Miss running back Shekai Mills-Knight with just under 11 minutes remaining finally put the Rebels on the board and cut Georgia’s lead to 35-7.
OLE MISS DEFENSE TAKES CHARGE, SHUTS DOWN MISSOURI’S HIGH-POWERED RUSHING ATTACK IN 31-3 WIN
Since 2023, no two SEC programs had posted better records than Georgia and Ole Miss. Both teams also entered the game with highly productive quarterbacks, although their styles differed.
Georgia’s clock-eating rushing attack featured Nate Frazier, Dwight Phillips Jr. and Bo Walker, who had combined for 19 touchdowns entering Saturday. That production had eased the burden on Stockton, who had still been efficient while throwing for more than 1,600 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Frazier rushed for 107 yards against Ole Miss.
Two of Georgia’s remaining games are against conference opponents. Next week, Missouri visits Athens. Ole Miss will travel to Norman for a matchup with Oklahoma in Week 11.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.