Stockton throws 4 TD passes as Bulldogs mount comeback

NO. 9 GEORGIA 43, NO. 5 OLE MISS 35

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Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton runs with the ball during the first half against Mississippi on Saturday in Athens, Ga. PHOTOS BY COLIN HUBBARD — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss throws a pass during the first half against Georgia on Saturday in Athens, Ga.

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By Charles Odum

The Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga.>> No. 9 Georgia has made second-half comebacks so normal that coach Kirby Smart characterized the latest example as “another day in the SEC.”

This comeback preserved the Bulldogs’ championship hopes.

Gunner Stockton passed for 289 yards and four touchdowns, including three to tight end Lawson Luckie, and Georgia overcame Trinidad Chambliss and No. 5 Mississippi’s powerful offense to rally for a 43-35 win over the Rebels on Saturday.

Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) charged back after trailing 35-26 at the start of the fourth quarter. Stockton’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Luckie with 7:29 remaining gave Georgia a 40-35 lead.

The Bulldogs have trailed at halftime in four of their five SEC games. They now are 3-1 in those games. Georgia trailed Tennessee 21-17 before winning 44-41 in overtime on Sept. 13. They trailed Auburn 10-3 before winning 20-10 on Oct. 11.

The latest comeback may have been the most dramatic.

“I feel like we played hard,” Stockton said. “We are never out of it.”

Added Smart: “The one thing we are, we’re hard to kill. We won’t go away.”

Ole Miss (6-1, 3-1) was denied its first road win over a top 10 team under coach Lane Kiffin even though the Rebels scored touchdowns on their first five possessions.

Stockton completed 26 of 31 passes and added a 22-yard scoring run in the crucial SEC showdown.

He was 12-of-12 passing for 135 yards with three touchdowns in the second half.

“You always want to pick the defense apart,” Stockton said. “We were executing well today. It was a great game. ... “We just played for each other and that’s the best part of our team.”

Stockton and the Bulldogs had no turnovers.

Stockton delivered perhaps his best performance and added to his reputation for toughness despite missing most of practice this week with a sore oblique from the Auburn game.

“He was beat up,” Smart said, adding “I was concerned he couldn’t go. I said ‘OK, we won’t use you in the quarterback run game’ and he said ‘No coach, I want to run it.’”

Stockton had 10 carries for 59 yards.

In previewing the game, Kiffin said winning at Georgia would mean the Rebels have taken “another step” in their move up the SEC. That looked likely when they scored touchdowns on each of their first five possessions, taking a nine-point lead in the third quarter.

Suddenly, the Ole Miss offense lost its magic as Georgia did not give up another first down.