This is the one we circled in August. No. 12 Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2 SEC) hosts No. 2 Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC) on Saturday, November 7, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT (7:30 ET) on ABC inside a packed Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. The College Football Playoff committee released its first rankings of the year this week, the Grove is going to be electric, and the Rebels draw a top-two opponent at home with everything still in front of them. Hotty Toddy.
The Biggest Game of the Year in Oxford
Georgia comes to town as the No. 2 team in the country, a one-loss heavyweight that has looked the part all fall. Ole Miss counters with a 16-game home winning streak and a building that turns into one of the toughest places to play in the sport on a night like this. The math is simple and it is enormous: a Rebels win ties them with Georgia in the SEC loss column and hands Ole Miss the head-to-head tiebreaker. This is host, not host, or miss it entirely territory, and beating the No. 2 team in the country at home is exactly how you earn the right to host.
Georgia This Week
The Bulldogs are 7-1 and rolling, coming off a 27-8 handling of Florida that was never really in doubt. Quarterback Gunner Stockton has steadied and sharpened Georgia’s offense, and earlier in the year he torched Texas for five touchdowns in a 35-10 win that announced the Dawgs as a true national-title contender. They are deep, they are disciplined, and they do not beat themselves. If Ole Miss is going to win this, the Rebels will have to take it from a team that rarely hands anything over.
What to Watch: Chambliss and the Rebel Run Game
Trinidad Chambliss has been the engine of this offense, and he was at his best in the 45-15 rout of Auburn: 263 yards and two touchdowns through the air plus 65 yards and a score on the ground. Just as important, the run game proved how deep it is, piling up 224 yards and four touchdowns against the Tigers with Shekai Mills-Knight turning in a career day. Kewan Lacy, a Doak Walker Award favorite, headlines a backfield that can wear a defense down over four quarters, and up front Patrick Kutas just earned SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week. If that offensive line wins its downs against Georgia’s front, Ole Miss can stay on schedule and control the tempo of the whole night.
What It Means for Ole Miss
Win this one and the entire conversation around the Rebels changes overnight. Ole Miss already owns wins over LSU and Missouri and reached the semifinals a year ago, so the resume is real. Knock off No. 2 Georgia at home and the Rebels are squarely in the host, not host, or miss it entirely picture with a path they control. After Saturday the schedule reads Oklahoma on the road, Wofford at home, and the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State to close it out. Take care of business against the Dawgs and the rest of November becomes about seeding, not survival. This is the kind of Saturday you play college football for.
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