Current:Home > ScamsNo. 1 Georgia deserves the glory after the Bulldogs smash No. 10 Mississippi-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
No. 1 Georgia deserves the glory after the Bulldogs smash No. 10 Mississippi
View Date:2024-12-23 23:11:32
ATHENS, Ga. – As Georgia fans sang “Glory, glory” in the rain before the start of the fourth quarter, Mississippi must have been thinking, "Mercy, mercy, make it stop."
It wouldn’t stop.
Minutes later, the Redcoat Band struck up that old hymn again, after yet another touchdown.
No mercy from Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs on this night. An onslaught, instead.
No. 1 Georgia stripped the wheels off the Lane Train and ran over No. 10 Mississippi 52-17 on Saturday inside a sold-out Sanford Stadium, that roaring venue where the Bulldogs haven’t lost in any of the past four seasons.
The Bulldogs are heading back to the SEC championship game in Atlanta. They won’t need directions.
Georgia had clinched the SEC East before kickoff, courtesy of Missouri's beatdown of Tennessee, but this season was never about a division crown. Rather, Georgia is trying to become the only team in the modern era to win three straight national championships.
I’m unsure whether Georgia will do it. I am sure it should be considered the favorite. You’d need to squint to find the chinks in Georgia’s armor.
HIGHS AND LOWS:Week 11 college football winners and losers
Georgia's Carson Beck plays at a Heisman Trophy level
During the earlier years of Smart’s tenure, I wondered what Georgia would look like if Smart developed an elite quarterback. I don’t have to wonder anymore. We’re seeing it.
Stetson Bennett IV delivered special moments the past two seasons, especially in the big games. What Bennett lacked in an NFL physique or skillset, he offset with a mile of moxie. Carson Beck is different. He’s better, really. Beck plays like a quarterback lab created him. His right arm is a rocket. Never was that more evident than when he fired a 29-yard missile between two defenders to Ladd McConkey for Georgia’s second touchdown.
Georgia’s offensive line protects Beck like he holds the Crown’s jewels. The Bulldogs’ big fellas flat-out whipped the Rebels and made life easy on Beck and his running backs.
Beck’s complement of weapons would make any quarterback salivate. Should he throw it to the nation’s best tight end, Brock Bowers, or McConkey, his star wide receiver? When that gets old, he can hand it to Kendall Milton or Daijun Edwards and watch them churn out a handful of yards each carry.
Ole Miss (8-2, 5-2) couldn’t handle all that smoke. I don’t know what team can.
Maybe, Michigan or Alabama or Ohio State. Maybe. The list doesn’t extend much further than that.
Ole Miss battles early, then fades
The Rebels traded touchdowns with Georgia for a quarter and a half, but the Bulldogs are unrelenting. When they’re locked in – and they always are for the biggest games – they just keep coming and coming with an overwhelming assault.
On a cold, wet night, Beck completed 18 of 25 passes for 306 yards. Yeah, he’s good. He’s Heisman Trophy finalist good. Beck isn’t receiving as much attention in the race for college football’s top award as he should be. I expect that to change these next few weeks.
Georgia played complementary football. The offense took care of the first half. The defense arrived late, then suffocated the Rebels.
Georgia’s front isn’t as fearsome as it was the past two seasons, but that’s like saying wrestling a gorilla is more inviting than wrestling a bear. Georgia remains plenty fierce. The Bulldogs kept Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart under frequent pressure. Ole Miss star running back Quinshon Judkins had success early, but not late.
Lane Kiffin promised his Rebels would have a “house money” mentality in this game, and they indeed played with the aggression of gambler who stumbled upon a stack of cash on his way into the riverboat. Ole Miss converted a fourth down inside its own territory during its opening scoring drive. It converted a fake punt inside its territory while trying to keep up after halftime.
There was no keeping up, though. The Rebels remain an entertaining sideshow who are better than most SEC teams in this down year for the conference, but they're not in Georgia's realm.
The only SEC foe that might be is that old power in the SEC West. Like Georgia, Alabama keeps getting stronger as the season progresses.
Nick Saban’s squad will be tough, but Georgia is on a march for glory.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Ranked voting will decide a pivotal congressional race. How does that work?
- Cleats left behind after Jackie Robinson statue was stolen to be donated to Negro League Museum
- Toyota recalls 280,000 Tundras, other vehicles over transmission issue
- Kelly Ripa's Nutritionist Doesn't Want You to Give Up the Foods You Love
- Too Hot to Handle’s Francesca Farago Gives Birth, Welcomes Twins With Jesse Sullivan
- Simone Biles is not competing at Winter Cup gymnastics meet. Here's why.
- Woman killed during a celebration of Chiefs’ Super Bowl win to be remembered at funeral
- 'Bluey' inspires WWE star Candice LeRae's outfit at 2024 Elimination Chamber in Australia
- ‘Emilia Pérez’ wouldn’t work without Karla Sofía Gascón. Now, she could make trans history
- ‘Totally cold’ is not too cold for winter swimmers competing in a frozen Vermont lake
Ranking
- Tony Hinchcliffe refuses to apologize after calling Puerto Rico 'garbage' at Trump rally
- WWE Elimination Chamber 2024 results: Rhea Ripley shines, WrestleMania 40 title matches set
- Green Bay police officer fatally shoots person during exchange of gunfire
- Kansas man pleads guilty to causing crash that killed officer, pedestrian and K-9 last February
- Quincy Jones' cause of death revealed: Reports
- Ben Affleck's Dunkin' Super Bowl commercial leads to limited-edition Funko Pop figures
- Judge throws out Chicago ballot measure that would fund services for homeless people
- Howard University is making history as the first HBCU to take part in a figure skating competition
Recommendation
-
Mike Tyson emerges as heavyweight champ among product pitchmen before Jake Paul fight
-
At 99, this amazing Holocaust survivor and musician is still beating the drum for peace
-
LA Dodgers' 2024 hype hits fever pitch as team takes field for first spring training games
-
Biden tells governors he’s eyeing executive action on immigration, seems ‘frustrated’ with lawyers
-
NASCAR Cup Series Championship race 2024: Start time, TV, live stream, odds, lineup
-
US investigators provide data on the helicopter crash that killed 6, including a Nigerian bank CEO
-
Charlie Woods, Tiger's son, faces unrealistic expectations to succeed at golf
-
US appeals court panel declines to delay execution of one of longest-serving death-row inmates