WHERE: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Miss.

WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m. ET

RECORDS: Georgia 9-0, 6-0; Mississippi State 6-3, 3-3

TV/RADIO: ESPN (Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Molly McGrath); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Eric Zeier, DJ Shockley); National Radio (Compass Media Network: Mike Morgan, Tiki Barker); Sirius XM (138 or 191)

Top-ranked Georgia dispatched then-No. 1 Tennessee Saturday, but there's still plenty of work to do. It starts with the Saturday night game at Mississippi State.

A win sends the Bulldogs back to the SEC Championship game.

It’s been two years since the two teams last met, with Georgia taking a 31-24 victory back in Athens in 2020.

In that game, MSU quarterback Will Rogers was a freshman, but connected on 41 of 52 throws for 336 yards and a touchdown.

Rogers is having an excellent year as he leads the SEC in passing yards, but he’s going against a Georgia defense that’s been every bit as effective as the unit that helped the Bulldogs win last year’s national championship.

After registering just 10 sacks in their previous eight games, the Bulldogs erupted for six in last week’s huge victory against Tennessee.

Georgia hopes to continue that surge in Saturday night’s game in Starkville.

Offensively, the Bulldogs will face a defense that—at least statistically—is the second-best they’ve seen since their game at Missouri a month ago.

The Maroon Bulldogs are sixth in the SEC in total defense, surrendering 360 yards per game. But Saturday, they'll have their hands full.

Led by quarterback Stetson Bennett, the Bulldogs are averaging 514 yards of offense and 40.11 points per game. Defensively, Georgia remains one of the country’s top teams, allowing just 10.78 points per contest.

OLB Robert Beal Jr. (stinger): expected to play

RB Kenny McIntosh (thigh contusion): questionable

DT Bear Alexander (flu): expected to play

LB Xavian Sorey (flu): expected to play

OLB Nolan Smith (pec): Out

WR AD Mitchell (ankle): Doubtful

OL Amarius Mims (knee): expected to play

OL Xavier Truss (toe): expected to play

OLB Darris Smith (undisclosed): questionable

DB Dan Jackson (stress fracture): Out

OL Earnest Greene (back) Out

RB Andrew Paul (ACL): Out

Offense

QB Stetson Bennett—We currently ranks third among active players in total offense yards per play at 8.42, which is on pace for a school record (7.69 by Aaron Murray). Bennett is coming off a game in which he completed 17 of 25 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. For the year, he's completed 198 of 292 passes for 2,606 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also has rushed 28 times for 130 yards and six scores.

RB Kenny McIntosh—Currently battling a thigh bruise that has plagued him this year, KMac has rushed 79 times for 324 yards and six touchdowns, while catching 31 passes for 322 yards and a score.

RB Daijun Edwards—Now Georgia’s leading rusher with 87 carries for 486 yards and seven touchdowns.

TE Brock Bowers—Bowers is the only player in the country this season with a rushing touchdown of 75 yards and a receiving touchdown of at least 75 yards. He has 34 catches for 574 yards and three touchdowns, with four rushes for 89 yards and three scores.

TE Darnell Washington—A devastating blocker, Washington has 19 catches for 332 yards, but is still looking for his first touchdown.

WR Ladd McConkey—Has battled a turf toe injury, but it hasn’t slowed him down. He leads the Bulldogs in receptions with 33 catches for 413 yards and two touchdowns.

Defense

LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson—Anchors the defense at middle linebacker with a team-high 42 tackles, including six for lost yardage and two sacks.

LB Smael Mondon—Third on the team in tackles with 33, including four for losses of 10 yards.

CB Kelee Ringo—Sophomore cornerback picked off his first pass of the year last week against Tennessee.

S Christopher Smith—Veteran is the eyes and ears of the secondary and tied for the team lead in interceptions with two. Made a career-high 13 tackles against Florida.

S Malaki Starks—The true freshman is second on the team with 40 tackles, and tied with Christopher Smith for the team lead in interceptions with two.

DL Jalen Carter—Finally 100 percent after being slowed most of the season with various injuries, Carter is making a huge impact on the defensive line. His 13 quarterback hurries are fourth on the team, and last week he forced two fumbles in the huge win over Tennessee.

Win the battle up front: Mississippi State’s offensive line has struggled with elite talent on the defensive line, and Georgia certainly has that. The Maroon Bulldogs have averaged allowing over two sacks per game, so winning these individual battles up front will go a long way toward winning Saturday’s game.

Be patient offensively: One impressive thing about Todd Monken’s offense is that the Bulldogs seemingly have the ability to take advantage of whatever opposing defenses show. In the case of MSU, the Bulldogs do not give up a lot of big plays, so it will be important for Georgia’s offense simply to be patient. This doesn’t mean Georgia will not take some shots, but getting 4-5 yards per clip and keeping the chains moving might be the best way to go about attacking MSU’s front seven.

Tackle in space: Yes, Mississippi State likes to throw the football, but the Maroon does so by using the passing game as an extension of the running game. Rogers will look to do a lot of dump-offs to his running backs and receivers to keep the chains moving. Georgia has been a very good tackling team throughout the course of the season, and will need to continue that theme as MSU likes to put its offensive players in one-on-one matchups.

• State's kickoff return unit leads the nation, averaging 29.0 yards per return. WR Liadeatrick Griffin leads the nation in yards per kick return (33.2), and his career average (33.8) is tops among active FBS players.

• Griffin returned his second career kickoff for a touchdown (92 yards) against Auburn (Nov. 5). That return tied him with Leon Berry (2009-10) and Kevin Prentiss (1997-98) for the MSU career record.

• Griffin finished the game against the Tigers with 144 yards on three kick returns, giving him five career games with 100-plus kick return yards, which is also tied for an MSU career record (since 1979).

• Quarterback Will Rogers broke a pair of Dak Prescott's (2012-15) MSU career records against Auburn (Nov. 5). He threw his 71st touchdown and surpassed Prescott's 9,376 passing yards. Rogers now boasts 73 touchdowns and 9,627 yards passing.

• Rogers has thrown for 300-plus yards and at least three touchdowns in 15 of his 31 career games, which is tied for 14th in the FBS since 2000.

• Running back Jo’quavious Marks has caught a pass in 32 consecutive games, which is the second-longest active streak in the SEC and tied for No. 14 nationally. He has at least one reception in every game of his collegiate career. The MSU school record is 35 games, set by Fred Ross (2013-16).

• Mike Leach and Mason Miller’s offensive lines since 2018 lead the nation in lowest tackles for loss percentage allowed (6.8 percent) and are fifth in sacks percentage allowed (3.7 percent).

• Five State receivers have caught at least 30 balls. Georgia and Texas A&M are the only other SEC schools with more than two.

• Wide receivers Austin Williams and Jaden Williams are the SEC's active career leaders in first-down receptions.

• Of the Bulldogs' 210 first downs this year, 137 have come through the air, which is tied for fourth in the FBS.

• Wide receiver Rara Thomas turned in his second career multi-touchdown game against Auburn (Nov. 5). He has matched his total from last season (5) and now has 10 career receiving scores.

• MSU is leading all Power 5 teams in yards after catch (1,704) after leading the nation in 2021.

• Wide receiver Caleb Duckin’s eight receiving touchdowns are tied for second in the SEC and tied for 10th in the FBS.

It's going to be a chilly night in Starkville with temperatures expected to dip well into the 30s before the game is complete Saturday night. But as hot as Georgia is, the Bulldogs will not feel a thing. Starkville can be a dangerous place to play, and Will Rogers is certainly a capable quarterback. But Georgia's defense is playing too well, and the Bulldogs have too much to play for. Prediction: Georgia 34, Mississippi State 10