The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 41-31 in Sanford Stadium on Oct. 12. Georgia wasn’t close to covering versus Mississippi State.
Both teams put up a show offensively and this was a game of fireworks, but in the end Georgia prevailed. UGA still has only one regular season loss dating all the way back to 2020 and has not lost at home since 2019.
Most of the big plays in this shootout came from the quarterbacks. Mississippi State freshman backup quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. played valiantly, completing 20 of his 37 passes for 306 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception, including some gorgeous dimes along the way.
However, he was out dueled by Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, who completed 36 out of 48 pass attempts for an insane 459 passing yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions for a 167.6 passer rating. This is a new passing yardage record for Carson Beck, and currently ranks third on Georgia’s the all-time list.
The big difference was that the running game was better for Georgia as well. their backs totaled 146 yards on 29 carries, although much of Georgia’s rushing stats came off of an awesome Anthony Evans III jet sweep that went 52 yards. Meanwhile, the Georgia front seven terrorized Mississippi State’s backs all game long, only allowing 79 rushing yards on 26 carries, a putrid 3.0 yards per attempt.
Overall, the Bulldogs had a comfortable 27-10 lead heading into the second half and never had less than a double digit lead afterward, but they could’ve won by even more points at the end. Peyton Woodring missed a 54-yard field goal to end the second half, and Carson Beck had a brutal red-zone interception late in the third.
The Georgia pass defense was concerning. Outside of a KJ Bolden interception and some early success, the secondary wasn’t able to contain Mississippi State’s passing attack. Georgia’s defense also committed several penalties on third downs to extend Mississippi State drives.
“I thought both teams in warm ups were lethargic and going through the motions and it wasn’t the energy it usually is,” Smart said, “Then when we came out in the game, and I thought we started fast and did some good things.”
Carson Beck was the best player on the field, but the Georgia defense being torched by a 33.5-point underdog is a point of major concern and could potentially cause Georgia to drop in the rankings.
Georgia heads to Austin to play the No. 1 Texas Longhorns next week at 7:30 p.m. ET. They’ll need to be more consistent on both sides of the ball going against the top team in the country.
