A nearly perfect Saturday morning in Starkville, Mississippi, set the scene for the Mississippi State Bulldogs to welcome the 5th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs to Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State would come into the matchup with Georgia not only with an upset on the mind, but also with an opportunity to secure a sixth win that would secure Coach Lebby and his team for the first time in nearly four years. 

Mississippi State would win the coin toss and elected to receive to start the game. From there, it was game on for the Bulldogs as they put together a long drive capped off by a quarterback keeper from KaMario Taylor to give the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead over Georgia. The Mississippi State defense would bend but not break as they held Georgia to a 49-yard field goal from Peyton Woodring to cut the Mississippi State lead to 7-3. Following a Mississippi State punt, the Bulldogs’ defense would force a Georgia fumble deep inside the red zone, giving Mississippi State the ball back, but questionable decision-making by Blake Shapen and a scrappy Georgia defense got the ball back off a fumble that led to a Georgia touchdown to retake a 10-7 lead with 14:11 remaining in the half. Georgia would cap off another long drive with another touchdown to extend the lead to 17-7 with 5:09 remaining in the game. With the help of next-level coaching by Coach Kirby Smart and his staff, Georgia would add another touchdown before the half ot make it 24-7. 

Back against the wall, Mississippi State would need to open the second half with a strong message to have any shot at a comeback. 

However, Georgia quickly responded to open the second half with a 59-yard Nate Frazier touchdown run, extending the lead over Mississippi State to 31-7. With 9:58 in the third, Georgia would add another touchdown to the beatdown to extend the lead to 38-7. Mississippi State would respond with a KaMario Taylor quarterback keeper for a touchdown to cut the Georgia lead to 38-14 with 4:49 in the third. Georgia would take that 38-14 into the end of the third quarter. 

Georgia would open the 4th quarter with a 49-yard field goal to extend the lead over Mississippi State to 41-14. KaMario Taylor would do KaMario Taylor things as he leads Mississippi State down the field for a touchdown to the deficit to 41-21 with 4:47 remaining in the game. 

Needing one win out of the final two games to reach the postseason , Mississippi State will take the show on the road next Saturday as they head north to Columbia, Missouri, to take on the Missouri Tigers. 

Photo Credits- Georgia Football on X