Dawn of the Dawg
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2016 Georgia Football game-by-game previews and predictions

By Jay Hawkins

Jan 2, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; The Georgia Bulldogs come out of the tunnel prior to the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; The Georgia Bulldogs come out of the tunnel prior to the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 1, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly and wide receiver Laquon Treadwell celebrate by holding up the Sugar Bowl trophy following a win against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2016 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly and wide receiver Laquon Treadwell celebrate by holding up the Sugar Bowl trophy following a win against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2016 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

Sep. 24     at OIe Miss

Players to Watch: QB Chad Kelly, TE Evan Ingram, DE Marquis Haynes

Preview: So, safe to say, Ole Miss has had their share of off-the-field troubles with the NCAA stuff hanging over their head. Nevertheless, the on-field product is pretty dang good. Hugh Freeze is simply an outstanding coach. The Rebels had an incredible 2015 campaign in which they went 10-3, beat current national champions Alabama for the second year in a row and won the Sugar Bowl in dominant fashion, 48-20, over Oklahoma State.

Success has been hard to come by in Oxford, Miss., but Hugh Freeze has certainly had his share and looks for even more in 2016. Although the Rebels lose a lot of talent to the NFL, they do return the best quarterback in the SEC in Chad Kelly. (Click here if you want to hear me gush over Kelly for nearly 500 words).

Kelly is amazing. He’s an exceptional, strong-armed pocket-passer and is athletic enough to make plays with his feet as well. Last season, he passed for 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns and rushed for 500 more yards. All that to say, he is a pretty good weapon to have in your back pocket from Hugh Freeze’s perspective.

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The offense as a whole should be pretty good as well as Kelly has a slew of talented guys returning to spread the ball to including star tight end Evan Ingram, leading receiver Quincy Adeboyejo and Damore’ea Stringfellow among others.

Remember how I said the Rebels had lost a lot of talent? Yeah, the defense definitely took a punch to the gut in this area, but they still have good players. Ole Miss returns three starters in a pretty solid secondary, pass-rushing specialist Marquis Haynes at defensive end (tied for most sacks in a single season in Ole Miss history with ten), fellow end Fadol Brown and 2015’s leading tackler in outside linebacker DeMarquis Gates.

Bottom Line: Ole Miss can beat you in a variety of ways. Heck, they even have one of the best kickers in the country in Gary Wunderlich. This game is going to go down as a loss for Georgia. Oxford can be a tough place to travel to, and this team Freeze has is pretty darn good. The Bulldogs won’t be able to stop Kelly and the Ole Miss offense even though they will put up a decent fight.

Prediction: Ole Miss 38-Georgia 28

Next: Oct. 1 vs. Tennessee

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