Georgia Bulldogs dominate in fourth quarter to defeat Ole Miss

Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton turned in an MVP-worthy performance, 26-of-31 passing for 289 yards and four touchdowns in addition to carrying the ball 10 times for 59 yards and a rushing touchdown.

Smart revealed after the game that Stockton — who was 12-for-12 passing for 135 yards and three touchdowns in the second half — was limited in practice leading up to the game.

“(Stockton had) huge scrambles, great throws on time, darts. He’s wired for these type of moments, because he’s tough and his team believes in him,” Smart said. “This kid couldn’t practice Monday and Tuesday, his oblique, from the shots he took at Auburn, he was beat up.”

Resiliency was once again the storyline for the Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC), who fought back from two scores down.

The previously-unbeaten No. 5 Rebels (6-1, 3-1) scored touchdowns on their first five possessions before UGA’s defense finally got a stop.

Georgia forced a three-and-out on Ole Miss’ 52nd play of the game to get the ball back trailing 35-33 with 12:37 left.

The Bulldogs drove 67 yards on five plays to reclaim the lead with 7:29 left, 40-35.

Tight end Lawson Luckie’s third touchdown catch of the game, a 7-yard strike from Stockton, represented the sixth lead change of the day and brought the sellout crowd of 93,033 to life.

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, seemingly unstoppable the first three quarters, completed a pass on first down for 1 yard before two incompletions led to a second-straight three-and-out series.

Georgia’s offense, back in possession with 6:33 left, added to the lead when kicker Peyton Woodring hit his third field goal of the day, connecting from 42 yards to make the score 43-35 with 2:06 remaining to cap a 10-play, 66-yard drive that took 4 minutes, 27 seconds off the clock.

The Rebels’ final drive ended at their own 35-yard line when Georgia’s transfer defensive lineman from Miami, Josh Horton, batted down Chambliss’ fourth-down pass.

Chambliss finished 19-of-36 passing for 263 yards and a touchdown and led Ole Miss rushers with nine carries for 42 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bulldogs never punted, scoring on every possession except when they kneeled to run out the clock at the end of the game.

Smart, now 8-0 against top 10-ranked teams in Sanford Stadium, saw his team outscore the Rebels 17-0 in the fourth quarter, his defense holding Ole Miss to 13 yards on its final 11 plays on three drives.

The Rebels held a 21-20 lead over Georgia at halftime after the first 30 minutes of play saw five lead changes and no punts.

Woodring opened and closed the first-half scoring, hitting a 51-yard field goal on Georgia’s opening possession and a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the half to close the scoring.

There were five first-half touchdowns scored between the teams in between Woodring’s field goals.

Smart had lamented UGA’s inability to make what would have been key tackles in the first half.

“We have to tackle better,” Smart said at halftime. “We had about three plays where we had them behind the sticks, and if we tackle them it would have brought up third-and-long and given us a chance to get off the field.”

Instead, Ole Miss went 5-for-5 on third-down conversions in scoring touchdowns on all three of its first-half possessions.

The Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1) are off next Saturday leading into a week of preparation for the 3:30 p.m. neutral site rivalry game against Florida on Nov. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla.