OXFORD, Miss. — It’s one of the best college football scenes largely unseen by people outside this quaint Northern Mississippi town.
Many people are familiar with “The Grove” and the world-class tailgating for which the Ole Miss Rebels have become famous over the years. Less known, however, is the fairly intense process that enables thousands to set up elaborate tailgates on a grassy, 10-acre plot in the center of campus where parking is extremely limited.
For the sake of brevity, we’ll summarize this way: It’s an “on your mark, get set, go” situation.
At 6:30 p.m. local time on Friday nights before home games, Ole Miss fans are allowed to queue up in designated areas around the perimeter of the Grove. Though, truthfully, they start lining up well before then. Some resourceful students have been known to toss out a blanket or two on a favorable spot on the lawn on a Friday morning on the way to class.
At 7:30 p.m., a siren sounds alerting tailgaters they can enter the oak-strewn property at 1848 University Avenue and head to their space.
It’s not arbitrary. The majority of spots are designated for the whole season, and most others require reservations. But the true art in Oxford is in the decorating, with some tailgates featuring chandeliers or candelabra, and many requiring television hookups. With all sites requiring some level of setup, it takes a while. Many companies are available to handle the dirty work.
Voilà! In a matter of hours, more than 5,000 tents are erected. When particularly monumental matchups are the featured act – and No. 3 Georgia at No. 16 Ole Miss qualifies – more than 100,000 people might gather in the Grove. When Alabama came in 2022, 150,000 tailgaters reportedly gathered here.
It’s unlikely to be quite that crowded Saturday. Not that Ole Miss versus UGA is unworthy, but the forecast for Oxford as of early Friday called for an 80% chance of afternoon rain.
Regardless, thousands will come prepared, and they’ll be here Friday night when the siren sounds.
Other things to know about Saturday’s Georgia-Ole Miss game
- When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (capacity 64,038), Oxford, Mississippi
- Rankings & record: No. 3 Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC); No. 16 Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2)
- TV/radio: ABC/Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network
- Weather: Warm and wet. Temperatures at kickoff are expected to be in the mid-70s, but there is an 80% chance of afternoon rain.
- Series: Georgia leads 33-13-1 in a series that for a short while was played every year. The Bulldogs have won 11 of the past 12, but lost the last time they traveled to Oxford. That was in the fourth game of Smart’s first season. Ole Miss prevailed 45-16 under the direction of coach Hugh Freeze.
- Last meeting: The teams were tied 14-all early in the second quarter when Georgia went on a 31-0 run on the way to a 52-17 victory. The Bulldogs got 127 yards rushing and three touchdowns from running back Kendall Milton and Carson Beck threw for 306 yards and two more scores.
- Tickets: The game is sold out, but tickets are available on secondary market at less than face value.
Storylines for Georgia-Ole Miss game
The rain
Georgia hasn’t had to play in the rain so far this season, but likely will Saturday. There was an 80% chance of afternoon showers as of Friday, according to weather.com.
Both the Bulldogs and Rebels have been preparing all week. Georgia does a certain amount of “wet-ball” training every week of practice, but the Bulldogs spent the majority of their scrimmage time all week working with a damp football.
“They’ve just been spraying the ball with water the whole practice,” Georgia center Jared Wilson said. “(Rain is) just something we’ve got to work on and get ready for.”
It has long been argued whether wet conditions favor a throwing team or a running team. In Saturday’s case, both teams pass the ball majority of the time. Typically, such teams remain proficient on offense because quarterbacks and receivers have the advantage of knowing where they’re going versus defensive players having to react.
Other possible adjustments include longer cleats and lots and lots of towels. In other words, they just deal with it.
“We keep an eye on the weather at all times and get updates each day,” Smart said with a shrug. “So, we’ll see what happens with that.”
Beck versus Dart
Jaxson Dart is winning.
That’s what Heisman Trophy betting will tell you anyway. The Rebels’ 6-2, 225-pound senior quarterback has blown past Georgia’s Beck in the latest odds release. Dart is down to +1600 while Beck has ballooned to +10000, according to VegasInsider.com.
Beck opened the season at +800 — one of the lowest of all quarterbacks — while Dart was +1700.
Of course, those numbers could change again based on Saturday’s performances. Dart’s odds improved after he passed for 515 yards and six touchdowns against Arkansas on Saturday, while Beck’s fell after throwing three more interceptions against Florida to give him 11 in the past five games.
There are those numbers, then there are these:
- 306 to 112 – Beck’s yards passing versus Dart’s in last year’s game in Athens.
- 611 to 352 – Georgia’s total offensive yards a year ago against the Rebels with Dart at the controls.
- 11-1 – The Bulldogs’ record against the Rebels in the past 12 meetings.
But the perception Saturday, at least, is that Ole Miss has the edge at quarterback. And it looks that way on paper. For the season, Dart has thrown for 3,210 yards and 21 TDs with only three interceptions. Beck is 2,302-17-11.
For Beck, the issue seems to be that Georgia’s 6-4, 220-pound senior has been trying to prove he can make difficult throws into tight windows instead of taking the easy check-down or throwing the ball away.
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is considered one of the best around at coaching quarterbacks around and remains impressed with Beck.
“I think he is very talented; played an amazing game against us a year ago,” Kiffin said of Beck. “You know, he’s throwing some picks, but quarterbacks go through that.”
Beck threw only six picks a year ago and had eight in his career before this season. Losing Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey to the NFL hasn’t helped, nor has the Bulldogs being without their top two split ends and two starting offensive linemen and having to use a turnstile at running back.
Welcome back, Tate
Turns out that Tate Ratledge returned just in the nick of time. The senior guard had been out for five weeks after undergoing TightRope surgery when he was activated against Florida and played 45 snaps.
That wasn’t the initial plan, but junior Micah Morris, his replacement, was injured in the first half against the Gators. Morris would return to play 44 snaps, but he showed up on the SEC availability report this week.
That means the Bulldogs will be leaning hard on Ratledge as they face the best defensive front seven they’ve seen all season. The Rebels feature high-profile defensive line transfers in Walter Nolen and Princely Umanmielan and lead the nation in sacks (41) and tackles for loss (94).
Smart said Ratledge was extremely sore after being pressed into duty, but otherwise has held up.
“Both are really tough, tough guys,” Smart said of Ratledge and Morris. “You can see on the (Florida) tape they pushed through some injuries and played with some great toughness.”
Georgia can move right tackle Xavier Truss inside to work at guard if Ratledge is unable to hold up. Sophomore Monroe Freeling also can play guard or tackle and freshman Daniel Calhoun is available.
Better returns
With wide receiver Anthony Evans out for a second consecutive week, the Bulldogs again will be without one of the SEC’s best punt returners.
Junior safety Malaki Starks handled those duties against Florida last week and did a decent job. He returned three for 21 yards, with a long of 11, but made fair catches on a couple of others where there seemed to be lots of room to run, including one at Georgia’s 10-yard line.
Indications are that Starks will return punts again Saturday.
“I think Malaki’s going to do nothing but get better and get more confidence,” Smart said. “He’s done it before, but he hadn’t done it in a game. And that game changed a little bit. We weren’t asking him to (return after) they lost their quarterback. … We wanted to play safe on the punt return team and make sure we defended the fake, so we didn’t set up returns. There were probably some yards there, but we were not asking him to do that.”
Dominic Lovett, Michael Jackson III and Sacovie White also practice punt returns.
Other availability
Take it for what it’s worth, but among the players listed on the Ole Miss availability report Friday were star receivers Tre Harris (doubtful) and Jordan Watkins (questionable). Also, starting running back Henry Parrish Jr. is listed as out.
But the Rebels’ report has to be taken with a grain of salt. Kiffin is known to take the SEC’s new injury reporting policy not very seriously. In the first report of the week, Ole Miss listed 26 players, which is thought to be a record. As of Friday, that had been reduced to 15.
Kiffin reportedly has been admonished by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey for his handling of the four-times-a-week injury reporting requirement. It was instituted this season as a measure to help curtail the influence of gamblers.
Harris’ injury appears legit. The Rebels’ leading receiver (987 yards-6 TDs) has missed the past two games with a “lower-body” injury. Filling in for him last week, Watkins set Ole Miss receiving records for yards (254) and touchdowns (5) against Arkansas.
Parrish’s injury is definitely legitimate. The Rebels’ leading rusher (678 yards-10 TDs) had to be helped off the field against Arkansas with a leg injury. Ulysses Bennett IV (37 carries-185 yards-1 TD) is listed as Saturday’s starter, with Matt Jones (43-222-3) also available.
Georgia’s most notable news is starting inside linebacker Smael Mondon (foot) being elevated to questionable. The senior has missed the past four games.
Ghosts of 2016
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is the scene of the worst defeat of the Smart Era at Georgia, and nearly Georgia’s worst SEC loss of all time.
The Bulldogs came to Oxford on Sept. 24, 2016, with a 3-0 record and left on the wrong end of a 45-14 final score. It could have been worse if Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze hadn’t called off the dogs with his team leading 45-0 in the third quarter. No. 12 Georgia scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns against the 23rd-ranked Rebels.
It was the Bulldogs’ worst SEC loss since suffering 42-10 defeat at the hands of LSU in the 2011 SEC Championship game and the worst regular-season SEC loss since losing to Florida 49-10 in 2008. Georgia’s worst SEC loss of all time was 48-0 to Georgia Tech in 1943.
Under center at the time for the Bulldogs was Jacob Eason, who was sacked three times and threw an interception returned 52 yards for a touchdown. The Rebels were led by quarterback Chad Kelly, who was 18-of-24 passing for 282 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 53 yards and another score.
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