Mississippi State and Georgia are set to face off this Saturday at 3:15 PM, with the game being televised on the SEC Network. Oddsmakers have made Georgia more than a 30-point favorite. Historically, Georgia leads the series 20-6, with their first matchup dating back to Halloween 1914.
Last weekend, Georgia defeated Auburn 31-13 in Athens, while Mississippi State had a bye to recover and rest. This will be the fourth matchup between the teams since 2017, all during Kirby Smart’s tenure as Georgia’s head coach. Georgia is 3-0 against Mississippi State in that span.
Coach Kirby Smart held a press conference today to discuss the upcoming game, lasting just over 16 minutes without an opening statement. Most of the questions centered on Georgia’s game-day atmosphere and their personnel. Below are Smart’s thoughts on Mississippi State:
On Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren: “He was thrown into the fire quickly in the middle of an SEC game (against Florida) and had to play. The next week he went to Texas, which are two tough challenges. He’s a tremendous athlete. They’re letting him play to his strengths, mixing in the other quarterback (Chris Parson) for designed quarterback runs. Both are strong runners, but they use Chris more in those situations.”
On Mississippi State’s offense: “I have a lot of respect for Jeff Lebby, his offense, and his career. He’s worked with great coaches and has a system that’s hard to defend. They spread the field, use tempo, and space things out. They read the numbers in the box and are usually right in their play choices. To beat them, you’ve got to win one-on-one battles and sometimes control two gaps. They have really good running backs, and it’s tough because of their style of play.”
On parity in the SEC: “The margins between teams are smaller now. It’s not just about home or away games; teams have the ability to pick up talented backups. If you look at the scores in the league, it’s more competitive than ever. We’ve made the league better by adding more teams, but it’s really about who can play the long game. Road games are hard, yes, but it’s more about how close these teams are in ability.”
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