No. 2 Georgia (7-1, 5-1) will face another test at No. 16 Ole Miss (7-3, 3-2) this Saturday in Oxford.
The Rebels are on a two-game win streak, and their offense is humming after scoring 63 points last week against Arkansas. They rank second nationally in total offense and fourth in scoring offense at 42.1 points a game.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart recognizes the problems quarterback Jaxon Dart and Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin present.
“Ole Miss has got a tremendous team. Lane’s done an incredible job of getting talented players, big, physical,” Smart said.
“I think Jaxson Dart is probably one of the best quarterbacks playing in the country in terms of explosive plays. A lot of respect for how he competes. The guy runs extremely physical, like an SEC running back. He doesn’t try to avoid contact; he seeks it. You can tell he has a fiery, competitive attitude, just like his coach does, just like Lane. So, they have a lot of the same personality traits.”
Dart passed for a program-record 515 yards and six touchdowns last Saturday while also rushing for 47 yards.
Smart has seen growth in Dart’s game since last season, when Georgia defeated the Rebels 52-17 in Athens.
“He’s more comfortable. He’s played more football. He’s got more experience,” Smart said. “He’s playing at a high level. He sees things well. I think he, Lane, and the offensive staff are further along. They know what they’re looking for. They know when you get in something, what beats that, and they know how to attack it.”
Beyond Dart, Ole Miss has many other weapons that can make a difference, too.
Rebels’ running back Henry Parrish Jr. is one of the best backs in the SEC, totaling 678 yards and 10 touchdowns this year. Dart is also the team’s second-leading rusher with 254 yards, followed by Matt Jones at 222 yards.
Dart has plenty of options at wide receiver, too, whether it is Tre Harris, Cayden Lee, Jordan Watkins, or Antwan “Juice” Wells. This year, the quartet of Rebel wideouts combined for 2,620 receiving yards and 18 scores.
Ole Miss has a balanced offense, which will run it while Dart airs it out, so Georgia needs to stay level-headed. The Rebels play a very up-tempo offense, and the Bulldogs must be ready to play lots of snaps.
“Ole Miss is a super high pace. They get tons of snaps; Lane does a great job of doing that,” Smart said. “It’s not always tempo, although tempo factors into it. They want to get you worn down and tired. They want to go quick. But they do more than your traditional fastball teams.
“They’ll formation you, they’ll motion, which some teams don’t like to motion because it slows you down. They’ll have different splits; they’re creative within their tempo to not just do the same thing over and over. They do a good job mixing it up. It helps them in the run game. It limits defenses. But it’s hard to simulate, and they’ve succeeded at it.”
Georgia linebacker CJ Allen confirmed the defense is up for the challenge.
“It’s simply [how] we’re going to prepare for it and stuff like that. They’re a great offense,” Allen said. “You can’t take away from that. They’re fast and good at what they do, so you have to be able to prepare for it.”