Murray's 4 TDs lead Georgia past Ole Miss 37-10

Saturday, November 3, 2012

photo Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray (11) throws under pressure from Mississippi defensive end C.J. Johnson (10) in the first half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012, in Athens, Ga.

ATHENS, Ga. - Aaron Murray threw four touchdown passes and No. 7 Georgia overcame a slow start to beat Mississippi 37-10 on Saturday and move one win away from a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) trailed 10-0 before scoring 37 unanswered points. The Bulldogs can clinch the SEC East title and second straight trip to the conference championship game with a win at Auburn next week.

Ole Miss (5-4, 2-3) used blitzes to record five sacks in the first half. The defensive gambles left opportunities for Murray, who completed 21 of 28 passes for 384 yards with no interceptions and touchdown passes of 66, 40, 42 and 28 yards.

Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree had a safety, a sack and an interception. His twin brother, fullback Alexander Ogletree, had an 8-yard touchdown run.

Georgia's defense, coming off last week's 17-9 win over then-No. 3 Florida, delivered another strong performance, holding Ole Miss to 234 yards. The Rebels were limited to just 55 yards in the second half.

Jeff Scott led Ole Miss with only 21 yards rushing on 13 carries.

Damian Swann recovered two fumbles for Georgia.

From the 11:45 mark of the second quarter through the end of the game, Georgia's defense outscored the Rebels 2-0.

Freshman tailback Todd Gurley had 18 carries for 117 yards, his sixth 100-yard game of the season.

Bo Wallace threw a 51-yard pass to tight end Ferbia Allen to set up Bryson Rose's 34-yard field goal on the Rebels' opening drive. Wallace threw a 13-yard scoring pass to tight end Jamal Mosley for a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Wallace was 16 of 25 passing for 187 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Murray had touchdown passes of 66 yards to Marlon Brown and 40 yards to Tavarres King before capping the Bulldogs' opening drive of the second half with a 42-yard scoring pass to Malcolm Mitchell. Murray added a 28-yard touchdown to Rantavious Wooten in the fourth quarter.

Murray's long touchdown to Brown early in the second quarter got things going for Georgia. The pass followed a well-executed fake handoff to Gurley, who was swarmed by Ole Miss defenders. Brown was standing alone near the 40 when Murray lofted the touchdown pass.

With Ole Miss leading 10-7, Rebels freshman linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche forced two fumbles during a spree of four turnovers - two by each team - in five second-quarter plays. Gurley and Keith Marshall fumbled after hits by Nkemdiche, from Loganville, Ga.

Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree intercepted a Wallace pass and Damian Swann had a 53-yard return of a fumble by Ole Miss receiver Vince Sanders during the wild exchange of turnovers.

The Ole Miss lead held until Georgia's final possession of the half. The Bulldogs were moving in the wrong direction, thanks to sacks by defensive tackles Isaac Gross and Uriah Grant.

On third and 25, Murray ran to his right when forced out of the pocket and threw the long touchdown pass to King with only 3 seconds remaining for a 14-10 halftime lead.

The momentum carried into the second half, when Georgia scored touchdowns on its first two possessions.

Georgia offensive guard Chris Burnette left the game in the second quarter with a left shoulder injury.