The Georgia football team and head coach Kirby Smart will watch the national polls change drastically after Saturday. All because they watched Ole Miss celebrate in euphoric fashion.
The Rebels toppled the No. 2 Bulldogs 28-10 in Oxford. Fans immediately rushed the field and took down the home goal posts after the stunning victory. Even Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin dropped an NSFW message after the win. But for Georgia's Smart, he blurted out a blunt admission about Ole Miss.
“I told our team this week they were the most talented team we’ve played,” Smart said via Anthony Dasher of UGASports.com. “They outplayed and out-coached us tonight.”
Georgia started fast on defense. Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart got intercepted by Dan Jackson, who took the ball to the 21-yard line. The Bulldogs capitalized by turning to Trevor Etienne four straight times on the first quartet of plays, all on handoffs. Nate Frazier capped off the opening drive by powering in for the two-yard rushing score.
The Rebels, however, erupted with a 10-o run to close the first quarter. Austin Simmons took over for Dart and put together a 10-play drive. Ulysses Bentley IV zipped past Georgia for a nine-yard touchdown run to tie things up. Ole Miss then added a Caden Davis 23-yard field goal.
Ole Miss prevented Georgia from re-taking the lead from there. Carson Beck struggled by taking five sacks and throwing one interception. Beck earned staunch criticism afterward. Frazier averaged only 3.9 yards per carry in having little running room. No Georgia wide receiver, including leader Dominic Lovett, surpassed five catches or scaled over 42 receiving yards.
The Bulldogs now face new questions ranging between polls and postseason future.
Georgia facing new dilemmas after Ole Miss loss
Georgia wasn't the only top-five program that fell on Saturday. The Miami Hurricanes got stunned in Atlanta by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets — with the Hurricanes' loss set to impact the Top 25 and College Football Playoff rankings.
The Bulldogs will drop in the rankings with Miami too. The Texas Longhorns are back in position to leapfrog Georgia, despite losing to the Bulldogs 30-15 on Oct. 19. The No. 5 ranked Longhorns thrashed the Florida Gators 49-17 Saturday to improve to 6-1.
The Indiana Hoosiers are also sparking top five conversations now across the college football landscape. The now 10-0 Hoosiers held off Michigan 20-15. But outside of Texas and Indiana threatening to rearrange the rankings, Smart and Georgia face one more major dilemma.
Smart's Bulldogs team now has two losses in 2024. That alone raises concerns about their chances to make the Southeastern Conference title game.
Texas and the Tennessee Volunteers are the only one-loss SEC teams left. This time, the conference will pit the two highest-ranked teams in the SEC against one another. There's no more division format for the championship — which already hurts the Bulldogs' chances.
Smart and the Bulldogs missing the SEC title game additionally places them at risk of missing the new College Football Playoffs. The SEC title game winner is automatically in. The chances are slimmer for two-loss teams like the Bulldogs.
Georgia will need much help to sneak back into the title game. The Bulldogs can redeem themselves by knocking off the No. 7 Volunteers next week. Ole Miss, though, just shook the tectonic plates in the SEC…and potentially left Georgia's title and playoff hopes shaken.
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