Bulldog defense punched in the mouth by Ole Miss

The Bulldogs got a sack on the second play of the game and came away with an interception on the third play. That turnover gave Georgia a short field, leading to a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead.

After that, however, Ole Miss punched Georgia's defense in the mouth early and often en route to a 28-10 win.

"They're a really good offense," safety Malaki Starks said. "Probably one of the best offenses in the country. I think we played really well sometimes, and sometimes we didn't. I think we showed glimpses of what we can do, and we've just got to execute better at the end of the day."

Georgia allowed 16 points to Ole Miss in the first half, surrendering one touchdown and three field goals. But that number is a bit deceiving.

The Bulldogs allowed 229 yards to the Rebels in the opening 30 minutes. Of that total, 195 came through the air. That surpassed the 187-yard average Georgia had allowed per game entering the contest.

Ole Miss also had no trouble generating chunk plays through the air. The Rebels had four passing plays of 20 yards or more and five of greater than 15 yards in the first half.

"They did some good things down the field, vertical passing game," Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. "They do a really good job with their vertical passing game and getting matchups. They switch routes. They do a lot, and Schumann (defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann) tried to change it up between man and match zone. I think we played decent on defense when we held everybody to field goals, but we couldn't get a turnover, we couldn't get a sack."

Smart added that Ole Miss didn't necessarily do anything unexpected in the opening half.

"They did what they do. They did what they do, and they did it well," Smart said. "They were short backs, so they went no-back some, but we actually had practiced and repped that some. We thought they would go no back because of their injuries. They used 11 and some of the wide receivers in the backfield. Converted a really critical fourth down early in the game with a wide receiver in the backfield, but that's something they always do. It's not like new or different or anything."

Georgia mustered a field goal to start the second half, cutting the lead to six. The defense then surrendered its second touchdown, with Ole Miss passing for gains of 23 and 26 before throwing a 10-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 22-10.

For the night, Ole Miss accumulated 397 total yards. Quarterback Jaxson Dart, who missed Ole Miss' second series with an injury, completed 13-of-22 passes for 199 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

In the latest in a string of highly-touted contests, the Bulldog defense didn't live up to its standard as Georgia lost its second game of the season.

"I think at the end of the day, they executed better than we did, on defense, on offense, for them at least," Starks said. "And I think they just played better than we did, and we've just got to come out and play better."