WHERE: Sanford Stadium

WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia (9-0, 6-0); Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1)

TV/RADIO: ESPN (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Eric Zeier, D.J. Shockley); ESPN Radio (Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer, Ian Fitzsimmons).

DAWG WALK: 4:45

It promises to be a raucous atmosphere as two programs with playoff aspirations tangle in what should be a very loud Sanford Stadium on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs are in a familiar position, only needing a win over the Rebels or a loss by Tennessee to Missouri to sew up another trip to the Southeastern Conference championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Ole Miss, meanwhile, has only lost one game, a 24-10 decision at Alabama on September 23.

Georgia and Ole Miss feature two of the most explosive offenses in the SEC, led by quarterbacks Carson Beck and Jaxson Dart, whose statistics are a near mirror image.

The Rebels also feature three receivers with over 600 yards each, while running back Quinshon Judkins leads the conference with 12 rushing touchdowns and is one of the top players in the SEC for yards after contact. In other words, he’s tough to bring down.

The Bulldogs have several storylines of their own.

Georgia is currently on a school-record 26-game winning streak and enjoying a run of 36 straight regular-season victories. The Bulldogs are 42-1 in their last 43 games.

All eyes Saturday will also be on Brock Bowers, who has missed the last two games following tightrope surgery on October 16.

Bowers is back to running, although it’s unclear if he can go in Saturday’s game.

The Bulldogs will play the game without starting middle linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson (broken bone in forearm). Still, Ole Miss has an injury of its own in starting right tackle Micah Pettus, who reportedly was hurt in practice this week. His status for Saturday’s game is unknown.

Georgia: QB Carson Beck, RB Daijun Edwards, RB Kendall Milton, TE Brock Bowers, WR Ladd McConkey, WR Dominic Lovett, WR Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, C Sedrick Van Pran, DE Mykel Williams, N Nazir Stackhouse, LB Smael Mondon, S Malaki Starks, S Tykee Smith, CB Kamari Lassiter.

Georgia Offensive Stats

Georgia Defensive Stats

Ole Miss: QB Jaxson Dart, RB Quinshon Judkins, TE Caden Prieskorn, WR Tre Harris, WR Dayton Wade, WR Jordan Watkins, LT Victor Currie, DE JJ Pegues, N Stephon Wynn, DE Jared Ivey, MLB Khari Coleman, Nickel John Saunders, FS Trey Washington, CB Zamari Walton, CB Deantre Prince.

Ole Miss Offensive Stats

Ole Miss Defensive Stats

Take advantage of the crowd noise: Georgia is hoping the atmosphere Saturday night will resemble last year’s game against Tennessee when the Vols had nine false start penalties. Ole Miss may be the most explosive offense Georgia has faced all season, and the Bulldogs will need to make use of their home-field advantage.

Contain running back Quinshon Judkins: At 5-foot-11 and 210 pounds, Judkins is one of the better running backs in all of college football. What makes the Alabama native so tough is the fact he’s very difficult to tackle. He’s one of the top backs in the game as far as yards after contact. Georgia defenders will have to make sure they wrap up.

Keep an eye on Jaxson Dart: Dart is one of the most prolific passers in the SEC, having completed 160 of 244 passes for 2,467 yards and 16 touchdowns. What makes him so dangerous is he’s also rushed for 334 yards and seven touchdowns. The Bulldogs have been hurt by quarterbacks who are able to run, and Dart will be one of their more difficult tests.

LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson (forearm) Out

RB Branson Robinson (ruptured patella tendon) Out

RB Roderick Robinson (ankle) Questionable

OL Amarius Mims (ankle) Probable

TE Brock Bowers (ankle) Questionable

…The Bulldogs are one of only four teams in the country that are ranked in the top 10 in both Scoring Offense and Scoring Defense. The Bulldogs rank sixth nationally in Scoring Defense at 15.4 ppg. Georgia is 10th nationally in Scoring Offense at 39.3 points per game. The other three teams are Michigan (9-0), Penn State (8-1) and SMU (7-2).

…One of the keys to Georgia’s success is its third-down defense. The Bulldogs are ranked third nationally, with opponents converting just 27 percent of the time. In SEC action, Georgia opponents are a combined 20-for-69 on third downs (29 percent). The Bulldogs are fourth nationally in converting third downs (55 percent). Georgia has converted 42 of 78 third downs (54 percent) against league opponents.

…Since the arrival of Kirby Smart in 2016, the Bulldogs have featured talented defenses and twice led the nation in Scoring Defense. This season, Georgia is ranked sixth nationally, allowing 15.4 points/game. The Bulldogs return 12 players who have starting experience from a group that ranked fifth nationally in 2022, allowing opponents only 14.3 points per contest.

…Quarterback Carson Beck is on a record pace for completion percentage at 72.2, which is ranked sixth nationally. The school record was set last year by Stetson Bennett at 68.28. The SEC record for a season is 77.4 by Alabama’s Mac Jones in 2020. He is eighth nationally in passing yardage per game at 301.8, and 11th in passing efficiency at 164.7.

…Saturday’s game will mark the final game for the Dan Magill Press Box in its present location. In 2024, the press box will still be located on the south side but will be located on levels 4 and 5 at the west end of the current Sky Suites.

…This is the first top-10 meeting ever between the Rebels and Bulldogs, as well as just the fifth ranked meeting all-time and only the second in Athens (first since 1968).

…This will be the third contest ever for Ole Miss against No. 1 while ranked top-10, the first since 1959.

...Ole Miss is one of just five teams in 2023 with at least five wins against opponents currently with a winning record.

…Ole Miss is off to an 8-1 start for the second straight year, the first time in back-to-back years since 1961-62.

…The Rebels have cracked a national top 10 for the third straight season, the first such streak since 1962-64.

…Since 2020, Ole Miss leads all FBS teams at 504.8 yards per game and ranks fourth in total yards at 22,718.

…Wide receiver Tre Harris is the only FBS receiver this season with both a 200-yard game and a four-touchdown performance.

…Ole Miss leads the FBS with three 600-yard wide receivers: Tre Harris (749), Jordan Watkins (627), and Dayton Wade (602).

…Quarterback Jaxson Dart ranks second in the SEC and 12th in the FBS at 311.2 yards of total offense per game.

…Running back Quinshon Judkins leads the SEC with 12 rushing touchdowns this year. He ranks second in Ole Miss career history with 28, third in all-purpose touchdowns (30), and fifth in rushing yards (2,360).

…Ole Miss leads the SEC and ranks 10th nationally in turnover margin (+8).

…Of the Rebels’ 4,310 total yards, 3,104 (72.0 percent) have come from transfers.

Ole Miss has plenty of offensive firepower, led by quarterback Jaxson Dart, running back Quinshon Judkins, and a host of talented wide receivers who can put points on the board as consistently as anybody the Bulldogs have faced this year.

What Lane Kiffin has done to rebuild the program in Oxford certainly qualifies as impressive.

The Rebels will cause the Bulldogs their share of problems, but ultimately, games of this magnitude come down to defense. Quite frankly, Georgia is better there. Prediction: Georgia 35, Ole Miss 24.