Three storylines
Offensive line concerns. Georgia could be down as many as three offensive linemen, depending on the availability of guards Chris Burnette and Kenarious Gates. Burnette, the starting right guard, went down with a knee injury in Wednesday's practice. Coach Mark Richt said Friday in a WSB radio interview that Burnette was making the trip and would try to play. Meanwhile, former starting left guard Gates returned to practice this week after missing the past 2 1/2 games with an ankle injury. Also, Georgia revealed this week that redshirt freshman guard Kolton Houston currently is ineligible because of "an NCAA issue."
Meaningful game. Games between Alabama-Arkansas and LSU-West Virginia have top billing in the SEC on Saturday, but none hold more intrigue than the one between the Dogs and Rebels. The importance of the outcome for the long-term well-being of the respective head coaches has been well documented. For the Bulldogs, it's a critical game for keeping their SEC goals intact in the first of five consecutive conference games.
Searching for sacks. Georgia has played pretty solidly on defense, but has one sack through three games. The Rebels proved mistake prone Saturday, throwing five interceptions in a 30-7 loss at Vanderbilt. So the Bulldogs will be coming hard after Ole Miss quarterbacks Zack Stoudt and Randall Mackey, trying to initiate more of the same.
A Georgia win would ...
- Be its eighth in its past 18 SEC games.
- Keep the Bulldogs alive in the SEC East race.
An Ole Miss win would ...
- Drop the Rebels to 1-3 for the first time since 2007
- Snap a six-game losing streak in SEC home openers
Keep an eye on ...
For Georgia: Isaiah Crowell. The freshman has proved to be as good as advertised, but he averages only 16.7 touches per game, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said he would like to see that number rise to somewhere between 20 and 30. At 6.3 yards per touch, this would be a good time to start.
For Ole Miss: Branden Bolden. The 5-foot-11, 221-pound senior running back returned much earlier than expected from an ankle injury suffered in the season opener against BYU. Bolden, who was fifth in the SEC rushing last season (81.3 ypg), came back last week against Vanderbilt and had 39 yards on eight carries and caught two passes for another 20 yards. Look for him to start today.
The numbers game
122 Points scored by UGA in first three games, the most in the Richt era
5 Career rushing touchdowns by quarterback Aaron Murray, two short of the record held by D.J. Shockley
The history book
Series record: Georgia leads 30-12-1, including 13-8 in Mississippi.
The last meeting: The Bulldogs won 45-17 on Sept. 29, 2007, at Sanford Stadium. Thomas Brown rushed for a career-high 180 yards and scored three touchdowns, including scoring runs of 50 and 41 yards. Georgia rushed for 328 yards as a team.
The bottom line
Road wins in the SEC are hard to come by, but the Bulldogs are a double-digit favorite against a program alleged to be under fire by a disgruntled fan base. They need to capitalize and quiet their own case of fan unrest.
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