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Georgia and Mississippi State meet this week, and it’s the first time they’ve met in Starkville since 2010.
In that game, A 24-12 defeat snapped Georgia’s 9-game winning streak in the series, the Bulldogs fell to 1-3 on the year and they wound up 6-7, which was the first losing season for them since 1996. Overall, Georgia has won 12 of the last 13 meetings, and leads the series with MSU 19-6, including 4-2 in Starkville. The teams last clashed in 2020, with Georgia posting a 31-24 win in Athens.
Postseason plans are coming into focus this week. Georgia can win its fifth SEC East title in the past 6 years with a win Saturday or a victory next week at Kentucky. Georgia also advances to the SEC title game if Tennessee loses any of its 3 remaining league games.
Georgia vs. Mississippi State: Prediction and preview
Georgia is coming off the highest ranked matchup in Sanford Stadium history, when No. 3 Georgia knocked off No. 1 Tennessee 27-13. The high-flying Vols entered the contest leading the nation in scoring (49.4 ppg) and were held to the lowest tally in the Josh Heupel era.
Georgia came up with 6 sacks against the Vols, who had only given up 13 this season.
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If State figures to pull an upset, it would need to slow down the high-powered Georgia offense. Georgia is averaging 40.1 points per game, which ranks 11th nationally, and the red and black Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 361-97 this season, including 208-41 in the opening half. Georgia leads the country by converting 50 of 51 times in the Red Zone, with 35 touchdowns and 15 field goals.
As strong as Georgia is, State can hold its own early, too. State is outscoring opponents 76-14 in the first quarter, and under Mike Leach are 13-4 when scoring first.
One key to the game could be special teams, as State’s kickoff return unit leads the nation, averaging 29.0 yards per return. WR Lideatrick Griffin leads the nation in yards per kick return (33.2), and his career average (33.8) is tops among active FBS players. He’s also coming off a big game. Griffin finished the Auburn game with 144 yards on 3 kick returns, which gave him 5 career games with 100-plus kick return, and that’s also tied for an MSU career record.
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CLAIM OFFERThe focus, however, of the Georgia game plan will be QB Will Rogers, who broke a pair of Dak Prescott’s career records against Auburn. He threw his 71st touchdown and eclipsed Prescott’s 9,376 passing yards. Rogers has thrown for 300-plus yards and at least 3 touchdowns in 15 of his 31 career games.
Prediction: Georgia 40, Mississippi State 21
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
