Current:Home > MyNo. 1 Georgia deserves the glory after the Bulldogs smash No. 10 Mississippi -TradeBridge
No. 1 Georgia deserves the glory after the Bulldogs smash No. 10 Mississippi
View
Date:2025-04-20 20:22:13
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 BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
veryGood! (93)
Related
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- The 10 best quarterbacks in college football's transfer portal
- Chinese developer Evergrande risking liquidation if creditors veto its plan for handling huge debts
- Guinea-Bissau’s leader calls a shootout an attempted coup, heightening tensions in West Africa
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Idaho baby found dead by police one day after Amber Alert, police say father is in custody
- Glenys Kinnock, former UK minister, European Parliament member and wife of ex-Labour leader, dies
- 32 female athletes file lawsuit against Oregon citing Title IX violations
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- High school athlete asks, 'Coaches push workouts, limit rest. How does that affect my body?'
Ranking
- Average rate on 30
- Former Marine pleads guilty to firebombing Planned Parenthood to 'scare' abortion patients
- Walmart says it has stopped advertising on Elon Musk's X platform
- Kyiv says Russian forces shot surrendering Ukrainian soldiers. If confirmed, it would be a war crime
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- These 15 Holiday Gifts for Foodies Are *Chef's Kiss
- Shane MacGowan, longtime frontman of The Pogues, dies at 65, family says
- COVID-19 now increasing again, especially in Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, CDC says
Recommendation
Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Make Red Carpet Debut as a Couple at Jingle Ball
Protester lights self on fire outside Israeli consulate in Atlanta
Elon Musk sends vulgar message to advertisers leaving X after antisemitic post
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
Phoenix officials reiterate caution when hiking after 3 mountain rescues in 1 day
How Prince William Is Putting His Own Royal Future Ahead of His Relationship With Prince Harry
Phoenix officials reiterate caution when hiking after 3 mountain rescues in 1 day