Georgia may have found its quarterback, but the Bulldogs are still searching for their first complete game of the season. But despite that, the No. 13-ranked Bulldogs edged Mississippi State, 31-24, on Saturday night.
In his Georgia debut and first college game in more than 14 months, quarterback JT Daniels threw for 401 yards while completing 28 of 38 passes for four touchdowns. He became the first Georgia quarterback to reach 400 passing yards in a game since Aaron Murray in 2013.
Daniels connected with eight receivers but particularly liked throwing to Jermaine Burton and George Pickens. Burton and Pickens both caught eight passes and combined for three touchdowns. Burton finished just shy of a program record with 197 receiving yards. Kearis Jackson also had a touchdown reception.
But outside of the passing attack, Georgia struggled in many other aspects. The Bulldogs rushed for a season-low eight rushing yards. Zamir White led the team with 21 rushing yards, averaging only 1.9 yards per carry. Anytime that’s the totals for a team’s leading rusher, obviously that team had a very bad day on the ground.
Defensively, Georgia also didn’t play particularly well. Mississippi State had 241 yards, including 210 passing yards, in the first half and finished the game with 358 total yards. Freshman quarterback Will Rogers threw only 11 incomplete passes in 52 attempts, and Georgia didn’t have an interception.
While it was a bit ugly early, at least the Georgia defense improved as the game went. Mississippi State punted on three of its last four possessions and the other drive ended in a turnover on downs.
Another big conversation after the victory Saturday night was whether coach Kirby Smart made an error in judgment waiting until the seventh game of the season to give Daniels snaps behind center. While the emergence of Daniels makes Georgia’s future very bright, some fans in our comment section made the point that with him starting earlier this year, maybe the Bulldogs could have been more competitive than they were against Florida or Alabama.
Here’s a little taste of DawgNation’s reaction to Saturday’s win against Mississippi State from Facebook: