Carson Beck, UGA Football Struggle Again As The Dawgs Lose To Ole Miss
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OXFORD - The No. 3-ranked Georgia football team fell to No. 16 Ole Miss, 28-10, on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Bulldogs went ahead 7-0 early but struggled to get much going against the Rebels after that, suffering a second regular-season loss for the first time since 2020.
The Rebels (8-2, 4-2 SEC) out-gained Georgia 397-245, averaging 6.2 yards per play to Georgia’s 3.8. Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck completed 20 of 31 passes for 185 yards, while the Georgia (7-2, 5-2) rushing attack was held to 76 yards on 31 attempts.
After playing three straight games away from Sanford Stadium, the Bulldogs return to Dooley Field next week when they host No. 7 Tennessee. The Volunteers will be the fifth Georgia opponent this season currently ranked in the College Football Playoff’s Top 25.
The Georgia defense got off to a great start, stopping Rebel quarterback Jaxson Dart for a 1-yard run on the first play, sacking him for a loss of 6 on the second play, and then safety Dan Jackson intercepted a Dart pass at the Rebel 34 and returned it 13 yards to the 21 on the third play.
Georgia’s offense took full advantage of the turnover. Trevor Etienne ran the ball four times in a row to get to the Rebel 4. Later, on fourth-and-goal at the 2, Nate Frazier ran the ball in on the right side for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 10:32 left in the opening quarter.
Austin Simmons took over at quarterback for Ole Miss on its second drive and led the Rebels 75 yards for a touchdown. The Rebels converted a fourth-and-1 at the Georgia 44 and later scored on a 9-yard run by Ulysses Bentley, tying the game with 6:53 to play in the first.
Dart returned to the field for the Rebels’ third drive and led them down to the UGA 6-yard line, where the Bulldogs forced Ole Miss to settle for a 33-yard Caden Davis field goal and a 10-7 Rebel lead with 3:01 on the clock.
The Rebels added a 43-yard Davis field goal with 12:12 left in the half to push their lead to 13-7. Ole Miss later got a 53-yard Davis field goal to make it 16-7 with 2:55 to play until halftime. At the half, Ole Miss had 229 yards of offense to just 69 for the Bulldogs.
Georgia opened the second half with a 70-yard drive that included four plays of at least 12 yards, but the Bulldogs ultimately had to settle for a 23-yard Peyton Woodring field goal that cut the Rebels’ lead to 16-10.
Ole Miss answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 10-yard pass to Antwane Wells in the back of the end zone. Georgia stopped the two-point attempt, holding the Rebels’ lead to 22-10 with 6:10 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs’ next drive included a pair of 8-yard runs by Frazier and a 20-yard completion to Dominic Lovett, but the Rebels were able to strip the ball out of Frazier’s hands on a screen pass and recover the fumble at the Ole Miss 29. However, the Bulldog defense held firm and forced the Rebels to punt.
After being held to 69 yards in the first half, Georgia gained 138 in the third quarter, but only managed a field goal. The Bulldogs had the ball as the fourth began and moved the ball down to the Rebel 27, but a fourth-and-10 Beck pass was tipped and intercepted with 7:22 left in the game.
Ole Miss added a 25-yard Davis field goal with 3:22 remaining to extend the Rebels’ lead to 25-10. Ole Miss sacked and stripped Beck on Georgia’s next drive, recovering the fumble at the Georgia 19. The Rebels tacked on a 32-yard Davis field goal with 1:11 remaining to make it 28-10.
Linebacker CJ Allen led the Georgia defense with eight tackles and two QB hurries.