After a big win in the Cocktail Party, Georgia heads west to the hamlet of Oxford to take on Ole Miss on Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway. A win on Saturday night likely cements Georgia’s spot in the College Football Playoff as the season hits the stretch run. With 2 losses, the Rebels’ playoff hopes probably hinge on a win as I believe it will be difficult for more than 1 3-loss SEC team to get into the field of 12. Let’s get to the first look.
Series record / last meeting
Georgia leads the series 34-14-1, but Ole Miss won the last game in the series. In the last meeting, Ole Miss upsets the Dawgs in New Orleans in last year’s Sugar Bowl playoff quarterfinal 39-34. Trinidad Chambliss brings Ole Miss back from a 9-point halftime deficit with an incredible 4th quarter. The Dawgs come roaring back from a 10-point 4th quarter deficit to tie the game late just to get burned one last time on 3rd down to set up the game winning field goal to send the Rebels on to the national semifinals.
Gambling degenerate facts
According to DraftKings, Georgia is an 3.5 point favorite with a 56.5 point total. Georgia is a -175 favorite on the money line.
Interesting statistic: 254.5 (Ole Miss rushing defense in their 2 losses)
Ole Miss has had some challenges with stopping the run throughout the season, but in their 2 losses (on the road), they have been dreadful. I expect the Dawgs to try to bully the Ole Miss defense on Saturday night as a result. I also expect the Rebels to commit safeties to the line of scrimmage to stop the run and force Gunner Stockton and the Georgia passing game to beat them.
Early outlook
I’ll take a win of any kind at this point in the week. The 60,000 or so in Oxford will be nothing to face compared to the 100,000+ in Tuscaloosa, so the crowd and home field advantage should be somewhat neutralized. The real question is whether the Dawgs’ defense can get enough pressure on Chambliss to get the Rebels’ offense off schedule and off the field. If that happens, I love Georgia’s chances to get the win on Saturday night as it appears that Kewan Lacy will not be available on Saturday night. Will the Dawgs have another letdown as they did following the win at Alabama? If so, we likely lose on Saturday night.
I think Kirby knows Ole Miss is the team he least wants to see in late December or January and will have the team ready to drive a stake through Ole Miss’s playoff hopes. Dawgs win a close one.
What’s your thought right now for Saturday?
With the Grove, what would be your favorite place (not just in the SEC) to tailgate if the Dawgs weren’t involved in the game? For me, I think I would want to experience an LSU tailgate without having to worry about the outcome of the game. I would probably also throw in the brats and beer at a game in Madison with Wisconsin.
Let us know in the comments below.
If the defense executes, meaning no missed tackles, loss of contain or total coverage busts Georgia wins. The only team that can beat Georgia is Georgia.
Firing squad, hanging, or lethal injection?
Blunt force trauma…..
Yeah, that oughta do it!
One of the most interesting tailgates was in Shrieveport for the Independence Bowl where we beat AtM without a Defensive Coordinator. LSU(!) fans showed up in force not only to support the SEC team, but also because it was football and a cheap ticket! Great tailgaters. They gldly gave us food and we gave them liquor. Great bunch of folks to party with as long as w don’t have to play ’em.
A couple of shows that I’ve watched where predictions are being made by pundits mostly favor UGA and for good reason – better lines on both sides of the ball and no Kewan Lacey. That doesn’t mean that Chambliss can’t pull a rabbit out of a hat, but those reasons make sense to me. Statistically Ole Miss has to find a way to outscore us because they haven’t been shutting many teams down with their D. I’m always nervous before a game, but I’m somewhat optimistic.