Advertisement

Unlike previous weeks, Ole Miss holds onto massive lead in blowout of Georgia

Georgia didn’t stand a chance against Ole Miss.

The mismatch was clear from the start as the No. 23 Rebels beat the No. 12 Bulldogs 45-14 to hand Georgia its first loss of the season.

Ole Miss sprinted away from Florida State in Week 1 and Alabama in Week 3 only to see its large first-half leads evaporate as the team imploded. There was no such implosion Saturday, as Ole Miss entered halftime with a 31-0 lead and took a 45-0 lead before Georgia finally scored a touchdown in the third quarter.

And not only did Georgia lose the game, it lost the services of running back Nick Chubb in the second quarter. Chubb, who suffered a nasty knee injury in 2015, appeared to injure his left ankle against the Rebels. He never returned to the game after the Georgia training staff took a look at him, but that could have simply been precautionary. There was no sense in risking a star running back less than a year removed from a devastating injury while trailing by four touchdowns.

Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly ripped apart the Georgia defense before sitting out the fourth quarter. Kelly completed 19-of-25 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns. His second touchdown made the game 24-0 when Kelly rolled to his right, shook off a sure sack and chucked the ball deep to DaMarkus Lodge in the end zone.

Lodge had two Georgia defenders around him and was interfered with as the pass flew towards him. He caught the ball anyway for a 55-yard score. Yeah, it was that kind of day for the Bulldogs.

Chad Kelly was 19-25 for 292 yards passing and two TDs vs. Georgia (Getty).
Chad Kelly was 19 of 25 for 292 yards passing and two TDs vs. Georgia (Getty).

Georgia QB Jacob Eason didn’t have his finest day statistically, but he had to throw the ball away way too often because of Ole Miss pressure. And when he wasn’t chucking the ball to the sidelines, his receivers were dropping it. The Bulldogs had a prime chance to get into the game in the second quarter after a 30-yard fake punt but the drive stalled after three dropped passes in four plays, including what would have been a tough touchdown catch by WR Isaiah McKenzie on fourth down.

[Check out Dr. Saturday on Tumblr for entertaining things you won’t see on the blog]

The loss to Ole Miss shouldn’t be too surprising for anyone that has watched Georgia so far in 2016. The Bulldogs had to come back to beat North Carolina, struggled against FCS Nicholls State and needed a late comeback and five Mizzou turnovers to beat the Tigers in Week 3.

But the way the loss happened is cause for concern — concern that would be at DEFCON 10 among Bulldog fans if the team was coached by former coach Mark Richt instead of first-year coach Kirby Smart. Georgia wasn’t competitive in any facet of the game and it’s hard to see how UGA will compete for the SEC East title unless the division is severely diluted.

For Ole Miss, any type of win over what was allegedly the No. 12 team in the country would have been a confidence boost after the way the team crumbled vs. FSU and Alabama. But Saturday’s performance is major proof Ole Miss will be in the thick of an SEC West race that looks muddled behind the Tide.

[Visit Dr. Saturday on Facebook for stories you might have missed and chat with the writers]

Popular college football video on Yahoo Sports:

– – – – – – –

Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!