The fifth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) extended the school-record winning streak at Dooley Field to 28 games on Saturday with a 41-31 win against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, a streak held since the 2019 season.
It wasn't the cleanest game for Smarts crew, allowing Starkville's finest to hang in the contest into the fourth quarter.
The offense put up some serious yardage: Carson Beck threw for 459 yards, and the ground game eeked out 146 yards at five yards a clip.
The running backs didn't have a productive outing; the room totaled 24 carries for 90 yards at 3.75 yards per carry, with the longest rush being a 52-yard streak from Anthony Evans III in the third quarter on a jet sweep reverse.
On the other hand, the backs were solid out of the backfield, totaling nine catches for 61 yards, with Trevor Etienne recording six for 35 yards.
Beck finished the afternoon 36/48 for 459 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
The first interception was a flukey-tipped ball at the line of scrimmage; Mississippi State only mustered a field goal off of it.
The second was a bit questionable; it came in the red zone during the third quarter. It was just a poor decision from Beck.
The passing game amassed 18 plays of 10+ yards and eight plays of 20+ yards; the Mean Machine was whizzing through the air.
- Arian Smith totaled five receptions for 134 yards with a 42-yard touchdown.
- Dillon Bell snagged five receptions for 82 yards and a highlight actual toe-tap touchdown from 31 yards out in the 2nd quarter.
- Anthony Evans III totaled five touches for 93 yards, highlighted by a 52-yard scamper on a jet sweep reverse.
- Dominic Lovett grabbed five catches for 50 yards, his long going for 19 yards in the 3rd quarter.
- London Humphreys snagged a pair of catches for 25 yards.
- It was a group effort from the tight ends, who totaled six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown from Lawson Luckie on the goal line.
The concern for Kirby Smart and Georgia faithful is the performance the defense put up against a Mississippi State quarterback starting its third-string quarterback.
With injuries, Starkville's finest had a surprisingly productive outing, totaling 385 yards with 306 through the air.
Georgia's defensive backfield is a severe weakness; the unit allowed 11 passes of 10+ yards, six passes of 20+ yards, and three passes of 30+ yards, highlighted by Mario Craber's 72-yard catch and run.
Daniel Harris and Julian Humphrey were both in one-on-one man coverage for long touchdown passes; the absence of an alpha corner in the secondary continues to plague Athens.
The front seven wasn't phenomenal, but the Mississippi State staff did a great job of installing and executing a game plan to nullify Georgia's defense's strength.
The unit recorded three tackles for loss and zero sacks while controlling the ground game, allowing just 79 rush yards at three yards per carry.
Georgia won, but fans certainly cannot feel a strong sense of confidence.
The Mean Machine must now prepare to travel to Austin next Saturday for a premiere match against the top-ranked Texas Longhorns.