Five things to know about Georgia football vs. Mississippi State in battle of the Bulldogs

Top-ranked Georgia football visits Mississippi State for a 7 p.m. ET game Saturday. Here are five things to know about the battle of the Bulldogs:

No hangover effect for Georgia Bulldogs

There was a lot of build up for the highest-ranked matchup ever in Sanford Stadium last Saturday against Tennessee and a lot invested emotionally to produce one of Georgia’s best showings under Kirby Smart.

Bang. Here comes another game week with the road trip to Starkville.

“After Saturday, it’s really behind us now,” inside linebacker Smael Mondon said. “We started getting ready for Mississippi State. Just putting your best foot forward. You hang your head on the past, that’s when you’re bound to mess up in the future.”

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The first two days of practice in the eyes of Smart showed no ill effects.

He said the team was “very focused,” on Monday and engaged as it prepared for what he called “a really tough environment," in Starkville. Tuesday’s practice didn’t have as “much energy and juice as I would like, but they practiced physical, and they practiced hard.”

Cornerback Kamari Lassiter said this team is “pretty mature,” and it knows “our season isn’t over. We’ve got a lot of football to play.”

Georgia can clinch the SEC East Saturday with a win or a Tennessee loss to Missouri.

Georgia football shrugs off being new CFP No. 1

Some of the TVs in the “Bones” dining area in Georgia’s football facility will show ESPN, Mondon said, which means that players there after practice Tuesday probably saw the College Football Playoff rankings show.

As expected, the Bulldogs moved up to No. 1.

“Whoever’s No. 1 in November, it doesn’t too much really matter,” Mondon said. “We’ve got to not really worry about the ranking and keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

Ohio State is No. 2, Michigan is No. 3 and TCU at No. 4. The next two teams are Tennessee and Oregon. So three of the top playoff contenders after Georgia are teams the Bulldogs have beaten in the last year.

CFP selection committee chair Boo Corrigan said of the Bulldogs: “We felt that Georgia separated.”

Smart was asked Wednesday about jumping to the top spot.

“No reaction," he said. "I didn’t see it to be honest. We work pretty late on Tuesday.”

The latest No. 1 ranking for Georgia won’t be viewed as a major step for the program.

"I feel like we've had a target on our back all year,” Smart said earlier in the week. “I really don't feel like that changes, right? When you won the national championship the year before, there's a target on your back from day one. It doesn't change regardless of your record or the venue that you play in.”

Mississippi State is facing an AP No. 1 team for the 12th time in program history with an upset over a top-ranked Alabama in 1980.

“I don’t get too caught up on it, just focus on what you do,” Mississippi State coach Mike Leach said. “The hardest thing I suppose is to get the message to everybody. It’s one thing to say it, but everybody’s got to believe and buy in. Just worry about what you do. Just worry about your job.

Georgia has a 91 percent chance to make the playoff, according to ESPN’s playoff predictor after a weekend when Alabama and Clemson lost.

“Once Sunday rolls around we flip the switch and focus on this week,” wide receiver Ladd McConkey said.

Bulldogs defense gets another test with 'Air Raid'

Georgia’s defense passed the Tennessee test with flying colors after Hendon Hooker and the Vols explosive attack was held in check in the 27-13 win.

Mississippi State is airing it out more than any team in the country again.

It leads the nation with 49.8 pass attempts per game. It’s the third straight year Mississippi State has thrown more than any other team. Mike Leach’s offense did the same at Washington State the three seasons before that.

“If you don’t get excited then there’s something wrong,” Lassiter said. “It’s a great challenge that we have in front of us. Me, myself, the defense and the DBs as a whole, we’re working very hard to prepare for that challenge.”

Mississippi State’s “Air Raid” offense hasn’t gotten as much liftoff down the stretch as it did earlier in the season.

After three straight weeks of producing at least 465 yards including 568 against Arkansas, Leach’s offense was held to 225 total yards against Kentucky, 293 against Alabama and 373 in an overtime win against Auburn.

An offense that has hit 400 passing yards three times this season has averaged 263.6 the last three games.

“We know they have really good threats outside and also a pretty good quarterback,” Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo said. “Just try not to let anybody get behind us and just continue to work together.”

Mississippi State wide receivers leads the SEC in dropped passes with 22, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, citing Pro Football Focus.

“I thought they improved, I don’t think we’re there yet,” Leach said Monday about the Auburn game. “We’ve got to keep getting better. We’d like to see that group be a little tougher group. We’ve got some skill, but just tough gritty guys instead of part of a fun little club.”

Quarterback Will Rogers leads the nation with 33 completions per game and leads the SEC with 26 touchdown passes and 2,912 passing yards, but is averaging just 9.71 yards per completion which ranks 13th in the SEC.

“He's very intelligent,” Smart said. “He doesn't make mistakes. He uses Coach Leach's offense to his strength…. They know who they are. They have answers for what they do. They're usually one step ahead in their answer than you are because you don't play against them but once a year and they do it all the time.”

Georgia held Tennessee to a season-low 195 passing yards last week and Hooker without a touchdown pass.

“They’re a really talented group and they’re aggressive,” Leach said. “They’re not complicated. They’re good personnel, aggressive, keep it simple enough that everybody can go fast. That’s what makes them tough.”

Georgia working overtime on Mississippi State Bulldogs return game

Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin leads a Mississippi State kickoff return team that leads the nation at 29.0 yards per return.

"They do a good job on their kick return unit,” Smart said. “We've worked overtime on that and hopefully we can be successful."

Griffin, a wide receiver, leads the nation this season with a 33.2-yard average and his 33.8 career average leads all active kick returners nationally.

“I feel like anyway Tulo can get his hands on the ball, there’s an opportunity for him to take it to the house,” Mississippi State safety Collin Duncan told reporters Tuesday. “When we see the ball in the air and it’s deep enough for Tulo to get it, it’s definitely a happy feeling.”

Griffin returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown last week against Auburn and another 100 yards last season against N.C. State. The wide receiver also had a 57-yard reception last week.

He has five career games hitting 100 yards on kickoff returns and five returns this year of 35 or more yards.

Georgia is 81st nationally in kickoff return defense at 19.4 on 9 returns. Jack Podlesny has 43 touchbacks and has kicked two out of bounds this season.

Teams have tried to kick away from Griffin some this season.

"He's good. He's really good, and they have a good scheme around him,” Smart said. “He sticks it up in there, and a lot of your kickoff return success comes from a fearless returning, but they have a frontline and backend group that are really coordinated.”

Stetson Bennett leads UGA offense playing 'as advertised'

Stetson Bennett has thrown multiple touchdown passes in three straight games, the first time he’s done in that in one regular season as Georgia’s starting quarterback.

Bennett had gone three straight games without a touchdown pass until the Vanderbilt win and has 11 on the season. He is second in the SEC behind Rogers in passing yards with 2.606.

“They’re as advertised,” Duncan said. “Stetson Bennett, he won the national championship last year. That’s hard to do. The guy, he’s sneaky athletic. He’ll go out there and stretch you out with his feet. They don’t call him the Mailman for no reason, He’s got a great arm. He puts it on the money. He’s got some great receivers to throw it to. They’re a complete offense. We’ve got to go out there and respect them but we can’t fear them.”

Bennett didn’t play against Mississippi State in a 31-24 Georgia win in 2020 in Athens., but this will be his 22nd start in the last two seasons.

“I think he’s improved,” Leach said. “I think he’s kind of a tough, gritty guy. I think he does a good job leading that unit and inspiring that unit.”

Bennett will move into sole possession of fifth on Georgia’s career touchdown passing list with two more, passing Matthew Stafford who had 51 between 2006-08.

“The guys wins,” Smart said after the Tennessee win. “The guy knows how to play the game. he understands what people are doing. He came off the field one time, we were frustrated and said, 'Well, what coverage was it?' He said what coverage it was, a lot of people were saying it wasn't, go back and look, turns out he was right. He sees the game, he understands it. He's stubborn as hell sometimes, but he's a competitor."

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Five things to know for Georgia football vs. Mississippi State