The 42-7 score made it obvious Georgia was the better team Saturday night.
The harder question is how a game between two top-10 teams turned into a blowout before halftime.
The Bulldogs won in just about every area imaginable, but three issues stood out more than the rest and helped turn a highly anticipated showdown into a long night for Ole Miss.
Ole Miss’ run defense
Stopping the run has been a problem for Ole Miss in its losses this season, and Saturday night was no different.
Georgia rushed for 295 yards on 48 attempts, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. The Bulldogs had 10 runs gain at least 10 yards, and four different players finished with at least six carries. Nate Frazier led the way with 107 yards, but Georgia didn’t need to rely on any single player to move the football.
The Rebels had already shown their vulnerability against the run in losses to Florida and Texas. Georgia took advantage of those same issues, rushing for 127 yards in the first quarter alone and 183 by halftime.
What makes the performance even more disappointing is that Ole Miss knew Georgia wanted to establish the run. The Rebels simply couldn’t do much to stop it.
Ole Miss’ pass blocking
Trinidad Chambliss spent much of Saturday night trying to escape Georgia defenders rather than finding open receivers downfield.
The Bulldogs recorded five sacks for 40 yards in losses and were credited with nine quarterback hurries. Chambliss was sacked four times, and backup Deuce Knight was brought down once after entering the game in the fourth quarter.
The constant pressure made it difficult for Ole Miss to establish any kind of offensive rhythm. The Rebels averaged just 3.7 yards per play, and even when Chambliss managed to escape the pocket, Georgia’s defense rarely allowed him to turn those plays into significant gains.
Ole Miss’ offensive line had held up well against some talented defensive fronts earlier this season, including allowing no sacks against Texas. But Saturday was a completely different story, and Georgia made the Rebels pay for their inability to protect the quarterback.
Everything else
Is it cheating to include everything else as the third thing that went wrong? Maybe. But after a 35-point loss in which Ole Miss was thoroughly outplayed, narrowing this list to three things seems unnecessarily difficult.
Georgia threw four touchdown passes on just nine completions. Ole Miss turned the ball over twice, failed to force a single three-and-out and got outgained by 229 yards despite running more offensive plays. The Rebels didn’t score any points until the fourth quarter and Georgia immediately responded with a 65-yard touchdown pass.
