ESPN's Nick Saban Questions Major Factor for Georgia Football vs. Ole Miss

OXFORD - ESPN’s Nick Saban questioned a major part of what Georgia football will have to Saturday to take down No. 10 Ole Miss and Rebel QB Trinidad Chambliss.

“Everyone says: ‘Why don’t you just put a spy on the quarterback to take care of this guy?’ That’s easy to do on third down, but it is hard to do on first and second down," Saban said. "But even when you get to third down do you have a guy that can get the guy’s ass on the ground? That’s the question.”

That will likely fall to Georgia football's playmaking linebackers - primarily Chris Cole and Raylen Wilson. Cole has scored two touchdowns this season on long fumble returns. He chased down and harassed Oklahoma’s speedy John Mater all game long. But Wilson and Cole struggled to slow Auburn QB Byrum Brown, but his style of play is significantly different than that of Chambliss.

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The Ole Miss signal caller performed play after play last season in the Rebels’ comeback win over Georgia last season in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Georgia coach Kirby Smart said the fact that Chambliss is in his sixth season of college football helps, but his movement helps him tremendously.

“He has played a lot of football and experience helps,” Smart told reporters Monday about Chambliss. “You throw all that in, and you have a tremendous athlete. He goes forwards, backwards as fast as he goes sideways. He can back up and go for it. He's just a great athlete that is a great quarterback. He knows how to navigate a pocket. I think his pocket presence people don't give him enough credit for it. This guy's not just like a take-off-and-run guy. He steps up in the pocket. He goes through the pocket. He's made some of his best ‘wow’ plays working through the pocket.”

The Bulldogs and Rebels kickoff in primetime on ABC Saturday night from Oxford. Georgia owns a lopsided lead in the series between the two schools, but the Rebels have defeated Smart-led UGA teams twice in Mississippi. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is one of two locations Smart has never won a game as a head coach as head coach.

The game between the two programs isn’t just a rematch of last year’s Sugar Bowl - it is also key for the Rebels, who likely need a win to get into the College Football Playoff after road losses to Texas and Florida.

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