Kirk Herbstreit says Ole Miss offense has to stay on schedule vs. Georgia

Georgia is in the middle of a three-game stretch featuring ranked matchups to end their SEC regular season play, with No. 10 Ole Miss visiting this week before a trip to No. 14 Tennessee awaits in Week 12.

The Bulldogs dispatched of the best Missouri team in roughly a decade last week after the Tigers put up a respectable fight Between the Hedges. The Dawgs will get their third chance of the year to defend their win streak at home against a ranked opponent as the Rebels come to town as the most dangerous of those foes yet with their high-powered and balanced offensive attack.

Ahead of this massive cross-divisional top-10 showdown in the SEC, Kirk Herbstreit joined SportsCenter live from the ESPN College GameDay set in Athens to break down what Ole Miss has to do to win while revealing where Georgia is a bit weaker this year compared to the title-winning teams.

“Well, first, the big thing I want to see — you see it’s pouring rain here, the crowd is out here, they’re going to be here tonight — and this tempo offense that Lane Kiffin has,” said Herbstreit, explaining why playing on the road can throw a wrench into a high-tempo offense.

“It’s very challenging if you really study it and what they’ve done with Tennessee over the years, you know, with Hendon Hooker last year home vs. away, the style of offense. And now you watch with Ole Miss home vs. away, it’s different because you’re going so fast and the communication has to be on point.”

In order to get rolling on the road, Herbstreit says Ole Miss just needs to pick up those first ten yards each time out.

“It’s critical that they get that first first down to give themselves a chance to make Georgia get on their heels defensively. If you can’t do that, the crowd becomes a factor and then you’re in trouble.

“So I think Jaxson Dart, tonight, the big thing he’ll do every drive that they start… can they get that first first down — and then you’ll see them accelerate and try to attack Georgia. And they got a lot of weapons. You look at Tre Harris, his ability to get downhill and win one-on-one matchups.”

As for the Bulldogs, Herbstreit isn ‘t quite as confident in this year’s defensive unit to shut down an offense like Lane Kiffin’s. Why? Well, because he doesn’t see those All-American top-NFL-Draft-pick type of players up front for Kirby Smart’s gang.

“My biggest concern for Georgia would be — the last two years, they’ve had game-wreckers, guys like Jalen Carter, who could just take a game over. They have very good players, they recruit nothing but five and four-star players. But they don’t have those players who just flash off the screen up front on that defensive line. They have great players, but they don’t have difference-makers.”

With Ole Miss able to deal major damage on the ground and through the air, Kirk Herbstreit has legitimate concerns whether Georgia can match strides with the Rebels offensively or hold them down defensively.

“So, I wonder how they can try to slow down Ole Miss’ ability to run, because this is not just Ole Miss and Jaxson Dart spinning it. They run the ball with Quinshon Judkins and that’s going to be a big part of how they attack tonight.”