Ole Miss Schedule Preview: Georgia Bulldogs

The Ole Miss Rebels have a game circled against the Georgia Bulldogs in early November.

Nov 11, 2023; Athens, Georgia, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) and Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck (15) hug after a game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The 2024 college football season is still about a month away, but with SEC Media Days in the rearview mirror, now is the time to begin previewing the Ole Miss Rebels' schedule.

Ole Miss is coming off an 11-2 season that saw it capture a Peach Bowl victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions in December. The Rebels return a plethora of talent from last year's team (including quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Tre Harris, tight end Caden Prieskron and others), but they also made a huge haul in the transfer portal to shore up some holes on its roster.

It's this combination of talent and a seemingly-managble SEC schedule that have many believing the Rebels can qualify for the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

Over the next few days, Ole Miss OnSI will preview each of the Rebels' 2024 regular season opponents. We last looked at the Arkansas Razorbacks, and today, we analyze the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia Bulldogs

In the best-case scenario for Ole Miss, this game in Oxford is the biggest game in school history. There are a lot of games between now and then, but an undefeated or one-loss Ole Miss team would be eyeing an SEC Championship appearance as well as a College Football Playoff seed when the Bulldogs come to town.

Georgia has a rather difficult schedule (road trips to Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss as well as a season opener against Clemson), but head coach Kirby Smart seems to have once again put together an elite roster in Athens. The Dawgs missed out on a CFP berth last season thanks to losing the SEC title to Alabama, but they went on to drum a shell of the Florida State Seminoles 63-3 in the Orange Bowl.

The Bulldogs have long had one of the top rosters in college football, but they return a ton of production from a season ago, starting with quarterback Carson Beck. At his disposal in the receiving game will be names like Dominic Lovett and Dillon Bell (both returners) and Miami transfer Colbie Young.

In the ground game, Georgia added standout Florida running back Trevor Etienne who rushed for over 700 yards in each of the past two seasons in Gainesville.

There is a good bit of returning production on defense as well as numerous projected starters were on the roster a season ago. The returning leader in tackles is Smael Mondon Jr., and strong safety Malaki Starks (3 INTs) is back for another season.

If Ole Miss' is in good standing in the win-loss department, this game against the Bulldogs on Nov. 9 could be a "house money" opportunity for the Rebels. If there have been a couple of losses before this game, it could be a massive opportunity for Ole Miss to re-enter the College Football Playoff race.

Either way, this showdown promises to be a big one in Oxford.