Turnovers have plagued the Georgia Bulldogs for much of the season. Quarterback Carson Beck came into Saturday’s contest at Ole Miss with 11 interceptions in his last five games. While Georgia managed to win four of those five games, those turnovers led to Saturday’s loss and a game plan that looked remarkably more conservative.

Yet, even with the noticeably more run-focused game plan to start the game. As Georgia ran the ball 18 times in the first half, compared to just 10 passing attempts, head coach Kirby Smart didn’t see any gun-shyness in his quarterback’s performance.

“I thought he came out gunning and throwing. Carson had his best week of practice,” Smart said of his quarterback. “I thought Carson did some good things. He threw some play-action strikes. He stepped up and made some great third-down plays.”

Beck threw the ball just four times in the first quarter, even while Georgia’s run game averaged 1.9 yards per carry. It wasn’t until the second half that Beck threw the ball more than 10 times in a quarter.

Beck completed 20 of his 31 passes for 186 yards, with an interception and a late fumble. There were multiple dropped passes, another issue that has dogged Georgia this year. In fact, the Bulldogs now lead the NCAA in most dropped passes.

Ole Miss became the third team this season to hold Beck to under 200 yards passing. The Rebels also became only the second team to hand Georgia a regular season loss since 2020.

While Georgia's SEC Championship hopes took a hit with the loss to Ole Miss, its playoff hopes are still alive. That path won’t get any easier as Georgia will host the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers next Saturday at home.

“Our future's in front of us,” Smart said. “We've got a big game next week. We've got to go out and we've got to find a way to execute at a higher level.”