ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia and Mississippi State football players met at midfield 23 minutes before Saturday’s high-noon kickoff at Sanford Stadium, pushing and jawing back and forth before taking their respective routes to the locker rooms.
It was the last time the Southeastern Conference’s two sets of Bulldogs would be viewed evenly.
Behind Aaron Murray’s two first-half touchdown passes and Isaiah Crowell’s 90 first-half rushing yards, Georgia built a 21-3 lead at intermission and coasted to a 24-10 victory before a soldout crowd of 92,746. The hosts already had motivation after getting whipped 24-12 in Starkville last season, and the midfield gathering only heightened the desire.
“That got us ready for the game, and we just had the attitude that we were going to go out there and destroy those guys,” Georgia junior safety Bacarri Rambo said. “Everybody went out there with the same mindset and attitude, and we did a great job today.”
To a point, at least.