coach Kirby Smart didn’t waste any time on his team’s thrilling comeback win over Missouri during his opening remarks at Monday’s press conference.
“We’re moving on to Ole Miss, an extremely talented football team that, as all you know, they have two losses to two really good football teams,” Smart said. “We’ve got a great challenge in front of us.”
Ole Miss’ two losses have come against Florida State and Alabama. The Rebels led by three scores at one point in each of those loses. They’re the favorites in Saturday’s early kickoff with the Bulldogs.
Georgia struggled to run the ball against Missouri and needed a breakout performance from freshman quarterback Jacob Eason to pull out a 28-27 win over Missouri. Eason, who has emerged as the Bulldogs’ primary quarterback, threw three touchdowns, including the game-winner to Isaiah McKenzie with 1:29 to play.
“To be honest with you, that play’s done,” Smart said in response to a question about the Eason-McKenzie hookup. “We’ve got to worry about Ole Miss. They’re going to have some really fast guys rushing. I’m really worried about what they’ve got rushing.”
Georgia’s suddenly stagnant running game is another concern, heading into Oxford. Nick Chubb, who blistered North Carolina for more than 200 yards in the opener, has been held under 100 yards the past two games. Georgia averaged just 2.7 yards per carry and finished 101 rushing yards against Missouri.
“We have to be able to run the ball better,” Smart said. “Effectively, we talked about run efficiency. We were only run-efficient in the first game (North Carolina). Efficiency for us is success at which you run it at first down, second down and third down. We haven’t been run-efficient that last two games. When you ask how do we do that better, we have to create opportunities for our kids to be successful in. That’s the challenge we have as coaches, and that’s the challenge we’re going to issue to our players.”
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
–RB Nick Chubb: The junior rushed for 63 on 19 carries against Missouri. It was his second game back, since suffering a serious knee injury last October.
–QB Jacob Eason: The ballyhooed freshman completed 29 of 55 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns and led the winning drive late in the fourth quarter against Missouri.
–WR/PR: Isaiah McKenzie: The 5-8, 170-pound dynamo remains a versatile weapon for the Dogs’ offense. He caught 10 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns against Missouri, including the game-winner from Eason with just over a minute to play.