Jake’s Take: Take a moment when you can. Ole Miss-Georgia is that monumental.

Author: Jake Adams (@OMRebelNation/X) | Special to the Ole Miss Spirit

About the Columnist: I’ve been writing, blogging and tweeting about Ole Miss since the Houston Nutt days. I also covered the Rebels for the Daily Mississippian and the Oxford Eagle back when newspapers were still a thing.

GAME: Georgia | November 8, 2024

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JAKE ADAMS/We Run the ‘Sip: It’s early-November and Ole Miss still has a chance to make the College Football Playoff. 

To do it the Rebels (7-2, 3-2 SEC) will have to beat No. 2 Georgia (7-1, 5-1) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ABC. And in what’s sure to be a jam-packed Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

This one has been circled on the calendar since last year. It’s the game a lot of us bought season tickets for. It’s the game Lane Kiffin built this team around.

Walter Nolen and the rest of the vaunted, off-season transfer-portal class were brought in to give Ole Miss a chance against Georgia.

Well, here the Bulldogs are. 

Oxford, Mississippi, will be the center of the college football universe, even if College GameDay inexplicably chose LSU and Death Valley instead. 

It’s crazy the Rebels still have this chance. This season hasn’t exactly gone as planned. Losing to Kentucky wasn’t on the menu. Neither was the offense stagnating in SEC play. We all thought Ole Miss would have a pretty good running game. It doesn’t. 

Despite all of it the Rebels seem to be finding themselves over the last couple weeks. Oklahoma served as a reminder Ole Miss has an elite defense. Defense, as the old cliche goes, wins championships.

RELATED: Kirby Smart, Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin both think their opponent this week is SEC’s best

Or so we pray.

Last week at Arkansas third-year, star Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart found his mojo again. He threw for more than 500 yards and six touchdowns in an historic effort.

Everything seems to be coming together at just the right time.

But Georgia is so good. Kirby Smart always has his team ready, too. We’re not going to see the Bulldogs that struggled against Florida last weekend. The Georgia that whipped Texas is the team I fully expect to see on the field. 

It’s vital the Ole Miss defense set the tone early and not let Carson Beck get comfortable in the pocket. Beck’s shown a propensity to turn the ball over this season in the face of pressure. He’s got multiple interceptions in four of his last five games. 

RELATED: Ole Miss War Room: Insider scoop on crowded UGA injury report; Top 100 hoops visitor

This game, offensively, is going to come to three things, if you ask me.

First, the offensive line must give Dart adequate pocket time. Ole Miss does not have a reliable running game. So, Dart having time to maneuver and survey is absolutely crucial. The Rebels could be in for a long, sad afternoon otherwise.

Next, Kiffin and Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr., need to scheme quick passes and keep the Bulldogs on their heels. They certainly flexed their play-calling muscle at Arkansas — a 63-31 Ole Miss clinic — just last week.

Finally, Ole Miss has to have enough healthy players to actually play the game. 

Now, I write that somewhat sarcastically. But after seeing the latest injury report (26 players!) I have no idea if the Rebels have enough players to field a competitive starting 22. Hopefully Kiffin is merely gaming the injury report. 

RELATED: Ole Miss football depth chart vs. Georgia

Hope is the thing with feathers.

If those things come together, the Rebels could very well pull this off. This isn’t David slaying Goliath anymore. Still, do yourself a favor. Sometime Friday or early-Saturday, in a quiet moment, sit back and appreciate where Ole Miss is — if for just a moment.

Sure, the season hasn’t PRECISELY to plan (far from it!), but we’re here. Ole Miss is playing for something monumental on a Saturday afternoon inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. 

And in the latest part of autumn. Soak that in. 

Having seen my share of down seasons over the last 40 years, I, for one, can appreciate that. We’re here in this moment and our team, Ole Miss, has a chance to do something special. 

Now let’s go do it!

I’m going Ole Miss 31, Georgia 17. The defense is going to eat. 

Hotty Toddy!