Georgia football weathers hangover to still dominate Mississippi State

Georgia football beat Mississippi State 45-19, but it was not the Dawgs’ best game. At times the Dawgs looked downright sloppy and forced way too many silly mistakes. They coughed up the ball too much, had costly penalties, and their special teams just wasn’t as good as it usually is.

This game was odd, and that is the best way to put it because it was a 26-point win, but Georgia was so inconsistent. How did a team look so polished last week and turn around to look like this against Mississippi State? It’s called a hangover from an emotional win over Tennessee, but great teams find ways to push through and win. The Dawgs have done that all year long, and thankfully, it hasn’t cost them a win, but lord, it is not good for the nerves.

Georgia is the sloppiest team but is also the most dominant team in the country — it doesn’t make sense, but it’s the only way to describe the Dawgs right now. If the Dawgs actually got it together for a complete game, no one in the country would touch them.

A win is a win as long as the team who wins remains undefeated, but Georgia has to figure out how to stop the self-inflicted wounds. The Dawgs have to clean stuff up because it’s only getting more challenging from here.

Georgia football pushed through the hangover to win by three touchdowns over Mississippi State.

Starting quarterback Stetson Bennett looked good at times, and he also looked like he tried too hard other times. Did he bang up his arm early on in the game, or was it just one of those times that Bennett just wasn’t his best? He went 25-of-37 for 289 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, so it wasn’t a terrible performance, but it could have been so much better.

He connected with Ladd McConkey, Darnell Washington and Brock Bowers on his three scores. McConkey also scored on a 70-yard run as well. He led the Dawgs with five catches for 71 yards, but he had 141 yards from scrimmage. McConkey was a beast today and proved all his doubters wrong.

Whoever thinks he isn’t good enough can kindly exit to the left because McConkey is the man. He is one of Bennett’s most trusted receivers and reliable guys on the offense.

Washington had a good game as well. He finally brought down another touchdown and finished with five catches for 60 yards. Kearis Jackson also had himself a game, too as he had a massive 30-yard catch to keep a drive alive. Jackson finished with four catches for 69 yards.

Kendall Milton did a great job coming in and recording a touchdown during the fourth quarter. He finished with five carries for 41 yards. Bennett also ran in a touchdown where he made a defender look silly.

Defensively, Georgia’s secondary gave up 263 yards and one touchdown. The special teams also gave up a touchdown on a punt return. Tackling wasn’t the greatest for Georgia, but it was enough. The Dawgs held Mississippi State to 47 rushing yards, but still, they gave up too much through the air.

Smael Mondon Jr. and Malaki Starks led the team with eight tackles apiece. Jalen Carter had seven tackles, one sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, and at least one quarterback hurry. Georgia recorded five tackles for loss and one sack in the entire game, so it wasn’t that dominant, but it was enough to get the job done. The Dawgs got pressure on the Bulldogs, but they still had success.

Georgia football got the job done and didn’t have to be pretty. Sometimes a sloppy win wakes up a team at the right moment. However, it was a hungover win, and that happens after a big win like the one against Tennessee. The Dawgs are SEC East champions and 10-0 on the season for the second straight year, and we will take this sloppy win and move on to the Kentucky Wildcats.