No. 1 comes to Starkville on Saturday.
Top-ranked Georgia (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) visits Mississippi State (6-3, 3-3 SEC) at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Here’s who has the edge at each position between MSU and UGA.
Quarterback
Stetson Bennett IV has been efficient for Georgia, throwing 11 touchdowns in what feels like his 11th year of college football. Bennett has tossed just three interceptions and has a completion percentage of 67.6 so far. He has accounted for 289.6 yards per game. For Mississippi State, Will Rogers isn’t too far ahead at 2,912 yards (323.6 per game). Rogers has thrown 26 touchdown passes against just five interceptions this season, completing 68.3 percent of his passes.
Edge: Even
Running back
Mississippi State running backs Jo’quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson have split reps this season, with Johnson sitting at 406 rushing yards and Marks at 357. Redshirt freshman Simeon Price has seen more action lately with Johnson out Oct. 22 at Alabama. But Georgia has three talented backs, too. Daijun Edwards leads the team with 488 rushing yards and seven touchdowns; Kenny McIntosh has six rushing scores to go along with 384 yards. Kendall Milton has 290 yards and four rushing touchdowns but also possesses the best yards per attempt mark of the three at 5.8.
Edge: Georgia
Wide receiver/tight end
Georgia has a whole host of weapons at Bennett’s disposal. Of them, his tight ends might be the best — sophomore Brock Bowers has a team-high 574 receiving yards, has caught three touchdowns and has run for three more scores. Darnell Washington, listed as a co-starter at tight end, has 332 receiving yards. Of UGA’s wideouts, Ladd McConkey leads with 507 yards, while four other players have more than 140. For MSU, Rara Thomas is pulling away from the pack with 540 yards through the first nine games.
Edge: Georgia
Offensive line
Mississippi State’s offensive line has struggled over the past few weeks, allowing nine sacks combined in the Bulldogs’ last two games. MSU is middle of the pack overall in sacks allowed and toward the bottom in rushing yards per attempt. Georgia, meanwhile, has protected Bennett well, giving up only seven sacks all season — tied for fourth nationally. UGA runs for 5.41 yards per carry, tied for 17th best in FBS.
Edge: Georgia
Defensive line
A year after Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker went first overall in the NFL draft, Jalen Carter is a likely top-10 pick in the 2023 draft. Carter leads a Georgia front that hasn’t recorded a ton of sacks — at 16, five fewer than Mississippi State — but is fifth in run defense, holding teams to just 86.33 yards per game. The Bulldogs are below average against the run, allowing 4.43 yards per carry and a bit more than 150 yards per game.
Edge: Georgia
Linebacker
Tyrus Wheat is up to a team-leading five sacks for Mississippi State after a big game against Auburn, while Nathaniel Watson and Jett Johnson are proficient tacklers for the Bulldogs. Georgia’s linebacker corps is missing Nolan Smith, out for the season with a torn pectoral. Jamon Dumas-Johnson leads UGA with 42 tackles, and Smael Mondon, Jr. has 33. The duo has combined for 24 quarterback hits this season, including 16 for Dumas-Johnson; no MSU player has more than Wheat’s six.
Edge: Even
Secondary
Georgia has intercepted only seven passes as a team, while Mississippi State has nine interceptions. Five of those belong to cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, who missed Saturday’s game and could be unavailable against the nation’s No. 1 squad. Esaias Furdge was capable in Forbes’ stead, but MSU will need Forbes to go against a talented Georgia offense. The UGA secondary includes freshman Malaki Starks, a five-star recruit; Georgia has the country’s fourth-best pass defense in yards per attempt.
Edge: Georgia
Special teams
Lideatrick Griffin has elevated Mississippi State’s kickoff return game to one of the best in the country, but the Bulldogs still fall short in other areas. Punting has been inconsistent, while field goal kicking isn’t totally shored up yet despite a 44-yard make by Massimo Biscardi to tie things up Saturday. Georgia’s Jack Podlesny is an impressive 16 of 18 on field goals, including 14 of 14 from inside 40 yards. Biscardi and Ben Raybon are a combined 7 of 11 with four missed extra points between them.
Edge: Georgia
Starters
Georgia
Offense
QB 13 Stetson Bennett IV Sr.
RB 6 Kenny McIntosh Sr.
-or 2 Kendall Milton Jr.
WR 1 Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint Jr.
-or 5 Adonai Mitchell So.
WR 10 Kearis Jackson Sr.
-or 8 Dominick Blaylock Jr.
WR 84 Ladd McConkey So.
-or 11 Arian Smith So.
TE 19 Brock Bowers So.
-or 0 Darnell Washington Jr.
LT 59 Broderick Jones So.
-or 65 Amarius Mims So.
LG 77 Devin Willock So.
-or 73 Xavier Truss Jr.
C 63 Sedrick Van Pran So.
RG 69 Tate Ratledge Fr.
-or 55 Jared Wilson Fr.
RT 70 Warren McClendon Jr.
-or 65 Amarius Mims So.
Defense
DE 90 Tramel Walthour Sr.
-or 93 Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins Fr.
-or 13 Mykel Williams Fr.
NT 96 Zion Logue Jr.
DT 88 Jalen Carter Jr.
JACK 33 Robert Beal Jr., Sr.
MLB 10 Jamon Dumas-Johnson So.
MAC 2 Smael Mondon So.
STAR 22 Javon Bullard So.
-or 23 Tykee Smith Jr.
CB 5 Kelee Ringo So.
SS 29 Chris Smith Sr.
FS 24 Malaki Starks Fr.
CB 3 Kamari Lassiter So.
Special teams
K 96 Jack Podlesny Sr.
P 92 Brett Thorson Fr.
Mississippi State
Offense
QB 2 Will Rogers Jr.
RB 7 Jo’quavious Marks Jr.
-or 23 Dillon Johnson Jr.
-or 22 Simeon Price Fr.
WR 0 Rara Thomas So.
WR 85 Austin Williams Gr.
WR 82 Rufus Harvey So.
WR 4 Caleb Ducking Sr.
LT 66 Kwatrivous Johnson Sr.
LG 64 Nick Jones Jr.
C 63 LaQuinston Sharp Gr.
RG 57 Cole Smith Sr.
RT 58 Kameron Jones Jr.
-or 76 Albert Reese IV Fr.
Defense
DE 6 Jordan Davis Gr.
NT 93 Cameron Young Sr.
DT 94 Jaden Crumedy Gr.
SLB 2 Tyrus Wheat Sr.
MLB 14 Nathaniel Watson Sr.
WLB 44 Jett Johnson Gr.
CB 13 Emmanuel Forbes Jr.
S 8 Jackie Matthews Gr.
S 19 Collin Duncan Sr.
S 0 Jalen Green Sr.
CB 3 Decamerion Richardson Jr.
Special teams
K 29 Massimo Biscardi Gr.
P 56 Archer Trafford Sr.
-or 88 George Georgopoulos Gr.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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