Editor’s note: This is the 10th installment of our “Scouting the schedule” series, which breaks down every game on Mississippi State’s 2022 football schedule. Part 9 concerned MSU’s home game against Auburn, while Part 11 will look at the Bulldogs’ matchup with East Tennessee State.
It was always going to happen, but 2022 has turned out to be the season where the Southeastern Conference’s rotating schedule dealt Mississippi State a poor hand.
MSU traded in SEC East doormat Vanderbilt and got back Georgia, the cream of the crop in the division — and, in 2021, all of college football.
The lopsided exchange has made MSU’s schedule one of the toughest in the country, and the fact that Mike Leach’s team will be hosting the defending national champions rather than visiting them is little consolation.
What could help MSU sleep easier at night, though, is the fact that five Georgia defenders were selected in the first round of April’s NFL draft.
But with quarterback Stetson Bennett, tight end Brock Bowers and others returning, UGA could have enough to keep MSU in check.
Mississippi State will welcome Georgia to Davis Wade Stadium on Nov. 12.
Georgia quick facts
2021 record: 14-1 (8-0 SEC)
Coach: Kirby Smart, seventh year
ESPN Football Power Index: No. 3
All-time series: 19-6, Georgia leads
Last meeting: Nov. 21, 2020
History
Mississippi State and Georgia haven’t played all that much over the years, but UGA has been the superior team when the two have met.
Georgia has won 12 of the past 13 games against MSU, with the loss coming back in 2010. The most recent contest between the two was a close one, with Mississippi State giving Georgia all it could handle in a 31-24 UGA win between the hedges at Sanford Stadium.
MSU and Georgia typically played in back-to-back years until 2017. They have not played in three consecutive seasons since 1959-1961, and that’s not likely to change soon.
2021 season
Only a loss to Alabama in the SEC championship game separated Georgia from a perfect season.
And still, that dominant defense made it an all-time year in Athens.
Georgia outscored its opponents by 28.4 points per game, winning by an average of more than four touchdowns. The Bulldogs gave up 17 or fewer points in every regular-season game.
Alabama changed that with a 41-24 win in the conference title game, but Georgia was ready. A late pick-six sealed a 33-18 win in the Jan. 10 title game after a semifinal win over Michigan.
Georgia knocked off Clemson, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and everyone else it faced in a 12-0 regular season with an 8-0 SEC record.
UGA lost a whopping 15 players to the NFL draft, including eight on defense, and its depth will be tested in 2022. Five players had five or more sacks for Georgia in 2021; 15 had 30 or more tackles.
Quarterback Stetson Bennett IV returns after throwing 29 touchdown passes against seven interceptions and finishing the season with 2,862 yards. Running backs Zamir White (856 yards) and James Cook (728 yards) were both drafted, as was receiver George Pickens.
Bowers proved to be a dangerous weapon as Georgia’s leading receiver, racking up 882 yards and 13 touchdowns. Ladd McConkey, also returning, had 447 yards and five touchdowns last year.
Key additions
Thanks to five consensus five-star recruits, Georgia owns the No. 3 recruiting class in 2022, per 247 Sports’ composite rankings.
No. 4 overall recruit Mykel Williams, a defensive lineman from the Peach State, leads the class. Fellow in-state signee Malaki Starks ranks in the top 20, while a Florida trio — edge rusher Marvin Jones Jr., cornerback Jaheim Singletary and cornerback Daylen Everette — rounds out the Bulldogs’ five-star crop.
Four-star running back Branson Robinson of Germantown — Mississippi’s top recruit — also signed with Georgia. He’s one of 17 four-star players coming to Athens.
Georgia did not add any transfers in the offseason, but the Bulldogs might not have needed to.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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