Georgia Emerges Victorious 41-31 in Battle of the Bulldogs

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Another home game, another win for the Bulldogs. Head coach Kirby Smart notches another win as the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-5, 0-3) 41-31 behind a big passing day from quarterback Carson Beck. Georgia had a 27-10 lead going into the half and Mississippi State made it close in the end, but Georgia reigned victorious.

Game Summary

Georgia started this game trailing early in the first quarter after Beck threw an interception and Mississippi State got a field goal off the turnover and made it 3-0.

Georgia tied it up at 3-3 on the next possession after settling for a field goal on a 10-play drive.

Georgia had five more possessions to end the first half, and they scored on four of them with the last ending in a missed field goal. Those possessions were touchdown, field goal, touchdown, and touchdown. Georgia went into the half comfortably up 27-10.

Georgia came out of the second half and went three plays and 75 yards to a touchdown. That made it 34-10 and the rout was on.

The Georgia defense sat back a bit and gave up three second-half touchdowns, so the game felt closer than it was.

Georgia finished this one off, winning 41-31 behind Beck's 3 TD passes and 459 passing yards as he constantly moved the ball down the field all game long.

Turning Point for Georgia

There was not a lot that could be deemed as a turning point in this one for Georgia, but there was a certain point where the tide turned and ended in Georgia's favor.

Going into the fourth quarter with the score 34-24 Georgia, Mississippi State got the ball into Georgia territory but got stalled back at their own 48-yard line. Quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. could not get any more points on the board for his team.

Georgia proceeded to take the ball 16 plays and 81 yards for a touchdown after Mississippi State punted the ball back. Georgia running back Trevor Etienne ran into the end zone from 1 yard out on fourth-and-goal to push the lead to 41-24 and out of reach for Mississippi State.

What It Means for Each Team

For Georgia, it got quite an offensive onslaught from Beck, wide receiver Arian Smith and wide receiver Dillon Bell. Beck had 459 passing yards, Smith had 5 receptions for 134 yards and a touchdown and Bell had 5 receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. Next up, Georgia will face the No. 1 Texas Longhorns (6-0, 2-0) on Oct. 19 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium at 7:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

For Mississippi State, to put up 31 against a top 5 team on the road in a hostile environment, in a losing effort, is impressive. Next up, Mississippi State will face the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies (5-1, 3-0) on Oct. 19 at Davis Wade Stadium at 4:15 p.m. EST on SEC Network.