Gunner Stockton completed 18 of 29 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday as visiting No. 5 Georgia blew past Mississippi State 41-21 in Starkville, Miss., in Southeastern Conference play.
Nate Frazier rushed for a career-high 181 yards and a score as Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) won its fifth straight game. Noah Thomas had three catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, as Georgia outgained Mississippi State 567-322 in its sixth consecutive win in the series.
Blake Shapen threw for 86 yards for Mississippi State (5-5, 1-5) before exiting with an upper-body injury. Backup Kamario Taylor threw for 87 yards and rushed for 53 yards and three touchdowns for the Bulldogs, who have dropped five of six.
Leading by 17 at halftime, Georgia extended its edge to 31-7 on Frazier’s 59-yard rushing score with 12:32 left in the third quarter.
Following Mississippi State’s three-and-out, Stockton found Thomas for a 64-yard touchdown pass at the 9:58 mark.
Taylor ran in his second touchdown with 4:49 remaining in the third, cutting the deficit to 38-14, before Peyton Woodring’s 46-yard field goal pushed the lead to 27.
Taylor scrambled for a 2-yard touchdown with 4:47 left for the game’s final score.
Mississippi State struck first as Shapen led the offense to Georgia’s 4-yard line, where Taylor ran in the game’s opening touchdown at the 9:26 mark of the first quarter.
Georgia cut into the deficit with Woodring’s 49-yard field goal on the Bulldogs’ first drive.
After forcing a punt, Georgia threatened to take its first lead after Frazier’s 31-yard rush to Mississippi State’s 4-yard line. Two plays later, Mississippi State’s Isaac Smith recovered Dillon Bell’s fumble at the 3-yard line.
Georgia got the ball back after Quintavius Johnson forced Shapen’s fumble, before KJ Bolden fell on it at Mississippi State’s 27-yard line.
Chauncey Bowens’ 4-yard touchdown gave Georgia a 10-7 lead with 14:11 in the second quarter.
Georgia tacked on with Stockton’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Oscar Delp, pushing the margin to 10 at the 5:09 mark of the first half.
After forcing Mississippi State’s turnover on downs, the visitors’ ensuing drive was aided by three defensive penalties, before Stockton’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Zachariah Branch with 11 seconds left gave Georgia a 24-7 halftime advantage.
–Field Level Media
