It’s not every day that the No. 5 team in the country is a 7.5 point underdog to team ranked loser than them, even if that team is a top 10 Georgia Bulldogs squad playing at home, but that’s exactly the situation for Ole Miss entering its showdown at No. 9 Georgia. And it begs the question, what does Vegas see?
How can Georgia keep the Ole Miss offense off the field?
The Rebels have one of the most explosive offenses in college football sa they average over 515 yards of offense per game, good for fifth in the country and second in the SEC behind only Tennessee. They are also fourth in the SEC in points per game with 37.8 as well.
Transfer quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has been a revelation and leads a high-flying offense filled with playmakers like wideouts Harrison Wallace and Deuce Alexander, and tight end Dae’Quan Wright. Ole Miss has been great on the ground as well, ranking third in the SEC in rushing yards per game with 157.7. Tough runner Kewan Lacy is the conference’s second-leading rusher as well.
All in all, it’s a unit that is going to put up points. And with Georgia’s up-and-down defensive performances this season, and an upset scare against Auburn, the Bulldogs would like to keep the Ole Miss offense off the field.
“Ole Miss has all those same plays [as Auburn],” head coach Kirby Smart said Monday vis 247sports.com. “You turn on the tape, they're tremendous offensively. There's not a run that Auburn runs that they can't run. They have a lot of the same weapons that Auburn does on the perimeter.
Well, it looks like there’s a path towards Georgia being able to control the ball and dictate the pace of the game. Because although Ole Miss has been solid on defense overall this season, especially against the pass, they’ve struggled to defend the run.
Georgia can take advantage of the Rebels run defense
The Rebels allow 157.7 yards per game against the run, which is the third-highest in the SEC behind Arkansas and Mississippi State. Washington State ran for 127 yards on Ole Miss in their near-upset last week, and Arkansas gashed the Rebels for 221 rushing yards and six yards per carry in a 41-35 shootout Ole Miss win.
That’s good news for a Georgia team that has had something of a run game renaissance in 2025. The Bulldogs have rushed for 185.5 yards per game with a stable of runners that includes Chauncey Bowens, Nate Frazier, Josh McCray, Dwight Phillips Jr. and contributions from quarterback Gunner Stockton.
It’s a deep group with runners whose styles complement one another. And though the Bulldogs had a rough day running the ball on Auburn, who held them to just 2.5 yards per carry and 79 rushing yards, they’re in position for a bounce back day on the ground.
“We want to be more explosive, obviously,” Smart said Monday. “We played some teams early that played us in a very different way that made it hard to be explosive. We've actually been more explosive against some of the better teams that we've played because they play you more aggressively, which exposes them to risk.”
Ole Miss has struggled to replace lost talent
Ole Miss’ defensive front, while still talented, has seen a step down in production from last year’s unit headlined by Walter Nolen and Jared Ivey. That group terrorized Georgia in Oxford, holding Georgia to 1.8 yards per carry and 59 rushing yards while forcing four fumbles in a 28-10 victory.
That game was an absolute nightmare for Georgia, and it had a lot to do with them getting beat up in the trenches. But the Rebels are much more susceptible to the run this season, which has coincidentally become the strength of Georgia’s offense after they struggled on the ground in 2024.
Ole Miss still has an explosive offense like last year, and Georgia’s defense has been shaky. The best way to combat that is by holding the ball and going on long, methodical drives. The good news is that the Bulldogs have been able to do that this season, even with a patchwork offensive line that has rolled out a different starting lineup every week.
Georgia went to great lengths to reemphasize the run this offseason, and that is the exact kind of game where that needs to pay off.