Georgia’s defense didn’t stop Ole Miss’ offense until the fourth quarter. And it was somehow good enough for a victory.
The No. 9 Bulldogs beat the No. 5 Rebels 43-35 after neither team punted through the first three quarters of the game. Heck, neither team committed a turnover, either. But Georgia finally forced Ole Miss to give the ball back without scoring with 12:44 to go and took the lead on a TD pass from Gunner Stockton to Lawson Luckie with 7:29 to go.
Not content with just a single stop, Georgia (6-1) got another on Ole Miss’ next possession. The Rebels (6-1) went three-and-out again after getting the ball back, and Georgia iced the game with the help of a 36-yard pass from Stockton to Dillon Bell with 4:35 to go to set up a Peyton Woodring field goal and an eight-point lead.
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Ole Miss had a chance to tie the game and force overtime, but it got just one first down before an incomplete pass on fourth down after Josh Horton deflected Chambliss’ pass at the line of scrimmage.
Ole Miss had forced Georgia to play catch-up for most of the game. The Rebels scored touchdowns on their only three possessions of the first half and then had two TDs on two possessions in the third quarter. Each of Ole Miss’ three first-half TD drives were at least 10 plays and the Rebels went up by eight just seconds into the third quarter on a 75-yard catch and run by De’Zhaun Stribling.
The lead was nine with 4:12 to go in the third quarter after QB Trinidad Chambliss scored his second rushing touchdown of the day. But the Rebels failed to score after that.