I'm sure Lane Kiffin had a good time working through his Kirby Smart material. The jokes at the presser, the pregame shirtless photo, the "timeout clapping" bit when his Ole Miss team was still up—all killer bits. But at some point, when he was workshopping the routine, he forgot about how to properly finish a football game, particularly against Georgia. Maybe he was still riding high over last year's victory and he thought he had the science down, but there's no trick to beating Georgia. You either outlast them or you don't.
Georgia beat Ole Miss last night, 43-35. Ole Miss led for most of the game, and for quite a while it looked like their offense couldn't be stopped. quarterback Trinidad Chambliss passed for 263 yards on 19-of-36 attempts and one touchdown, and then ran for another two touchdowns. Running back Kewan Lacy chipped in with two scores of his own. Eventually, Georgia's offense went on its own unstoppable run of scoring, which held to the end of the game. QB Gunner Stockton ended the day with 289 yards and four touchdowns. The difference in the game was that Georgia was able to stop the leaking on defense, right when it mattered most, shutting out Ole Miss 17-0 in the fourth quarter.
Ole Miss vs. Georgia has become a big game in recent years, as Ole Miss and their coach keep trying to escape the confines of "pretty good football team" to become a championship contender. The trouble is that teams like Alabama and Georgia stand in their way year after year. I'm not sure how much longer Ole Miss can stomach being just the bridesmaid of the SEC, but it's becoming clearer every year that there's a level this program can't quite reach, and likely never will.
What's frustrating about Georgia, and all these games in which they've trailed at halftime, is that Kirby Smart's team is built to be a boa constrictor that wraps around its prey and squeezes the life out of it. That's it. They will never be flashy, they will never be known for enacting some great offensive philosophy, and they won't even be high-flying on defense. They will just slowly suffocate you while you fight and struggle. And the only reason they can't do it to Alabama is because Alabama is just as boringly effective. But the rest of the conference, and particularly Lane Kiffin, will almost always get squeezed.
