Georgia’s defense didn’t stop Ole Miss’ offense until the fourth quarter. And it was somehow good enough for a victory.
The No. 9 Bulldogs beat the No. 5 Rebels 43-35 after neither team punted through the first three quarters of the game. Heck, neither team committed a turnover, either. But Georgia finally forced Ole Miss to give the ball back without scoring with 12:44 to go and took the lead on a TD pass from Gunner Stockton to Lawson Luckie with 7:29 to go.
Not content with just a single stop, Georgia (6-1) got another on Ole Miss’ next possession. The Rebels (6-1) went three-and-out again after getting the ball back, and Georgia iced the game with the help of a 36-yard pass from Stockton to Dillon Bell with 4:35 to go to set up a Peyton Woodring field goal and an eight-point lead.
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Woodring’s kick went through after Stockton, the team’s primary holder, had to quickly pick the snap up off the turf to get it in place.
“It wasn’t too bad of a snap,” Stockton said after the game.
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Ole Miss had a chance to tie the game and force overtime, but it got just one first down before an incomplete pass on fourth down after Josh Horton deflected Chambliss’ pass at the line of scrimmage.
Ole Miss had forced Georgia to play catch-up for most of the game. The Rebels scored touchdowns on their only three possessions of the first half and then had two TDs on two possessions in the third quarter. Each of Ole Miss’ three first-half TD drives were at least 10 plays and the Rebels went up by eight just seconds into the third quarter on a 75-yard catch and run by De’Zhaun Stribling.
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The lead was nine with 4:12 to go in the third quarter after QB Trinidad Chambliss scored his second rushing touchdown of the day. But the Rebels failed to score after that.
Gunner Stockton totals 5 TDs
As the defense did what it needed to do in the fourth quarter, Stockton had the best game of his Georgia career.
Stockton had as many touchdowns (five) as he did incompletions. Stockton was 26-of-31 passing for 289 yards and threw four scores while rushing 10 times for 59 yards and a TD. Georgia outgained Ole Miss 510 to 351 thanks to their fourth-quarter prowess.
Ole Miss gained just 13 yards on 11 plays in the final quarter. Georgia ran 23 plays in the fourth for 152 yards before kneeling out the clock as the Ole Miss defense was clearly gassed.
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Could these two teams meet again in Atlanta?
It’s not out of the question that Ole Miss and Georgia could meet for the SEC title in December. Ahead of its game against Tennessee later Saturday night, No. 4 Alabama is the current favorite to take one of the spots in the title game. But it’s anyone’s guess who could occupy that second spot.
As of Saturday afternoon, nine teams have one or fewer losses in the conference. And Alabama and No. 4 Texas A&M are the only two teams without a loss. You can make a case for Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma and even Vanderbilt to make the title game at the moment.
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In an unpredictable 2025 season, the SEC is on a very clear path to wind up as the conference with the most parity among its top teams.
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