ATHENS, Ga. — In an offense-heavy matchup of top-10 teams Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium, it was ninth-ranked Georgia’s defense that came through in the fourth quarter against No. 5 Ole Miss. The Rebels scored touchdowns on their first five possessions in the game, but the Bulldogs shut them down late and pulled out a 43-35 win.

Quarterback Gunner Stockton’s fourth touchdown pass of the game, and third to tight end Lawson Luckie, a 7-yarder with 7:29 remaining, gave Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) the lead for good. It came after the Bulldog defense got its first stop of the game, a three-and-out. Georgia later added a 42-yard Peyton Woodring field goal with 2:06 to play, and then stopped the Rebels (6-1, 3-1) for the third straight drive to seal the win.

Georgia came into Saturday’s game 7-0 in home games against top-10 teams under coach Kirby Smart, and that unblemished record looked very vulnerable for long stretches as the Rebels kept finding the end zone. But the Bulldog defense eventually got the stops they needed, while the offense had a huge day. Georgia out-gained the Rebels 510-351 and had a 15-minute advantage in time of possession: 37:39-22:21. Stockton finished 26 of 31 for 289 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, while the Bulldogs also rushed for 221 yards on 49 attempts.

The Bulldogs got the ball to start the game and opened with an 8-yard completion to wideout Zachariah Branch, a 6-yard Nate Frazier rush and a 36-yard completion from Stockton to receiver Colbie Young. The drive was stalled by an offensive pass interference penalty, forcing Georgia to settle for a 51-yard Woodring field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Ole Miss answered with a 14-play drive that ended with a 7-yard Trinidad Chambliss run for a touchdown and a 7-3 lead with 5:47 to play in the opening quarter. It was the beginning of an offense-heavy afternoon on Dooley Field.

Georgia followed that with its own touchdown drive, covering 75 yards in 13 plays. After making a great catch for 13 yards on a ball thrown behind him earlier in the drive, tight end Lawson Luckie caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Stockton on the first play of the second quarter, putting the Bulldogs back in front, 10-7.

The Rebels regained the lead, 14-10, with a 10-play drive that ended with Kewan Lacy’s 1-yard touchdown run with 10:53 to go in the half. The back-and-forth continued on the next drive, with Georgia making plays in the run and pass games. Two plays after connecting with Dillon Bell on a 21-yard completion, Stockton ran the ball in from the 22 for a touchdown, his longest rush of the season, and a 17-14 lead with 7:13 on the clock. It was Stockton’s team-high seventh rushing touchdown of the season.

Ole Miss took advantage of a pair of Georgia pass interference penalties in Bulldog territory, and regained the lead, 21-17, with 2:10 left in the half, on Lacy’s 1-yard rush for a touchdown. On the final play of the half, Woodring made a 35-yard field goal to cut the Rebel lead to 21-20 at the break. Georgia had a 25-1183 advantage in total offense at the half, with an average of 6.6 yards per play to Ole Miss’ 5.2.

The Rebels only needed two plays to find the end zone on the first possession of the second half, with Chambliss connecting with De’Zhaun Stribling on the left side and the receiver doing the rest on a 75-yard touchdown to push the Rebels’ lead to 28-21.

Georgia once again responded with its own scoring drive, this one ending with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Stockton to Luckie. The Bulldogs’ 2-point conversion attempt failed, allowing the Rebels to hold onto the lead, 28-26, with 10:02 remaining in the third quarter. Ole Miss extended its lead soon after, going up 35-26 with 4:12 left in the third, on Chambliss’ 2-yard touchdown run. Chambliss ran for 16 yards earlier in the drive on fourth-and-2 at the UGA 30-yard line. Chambliss’ rushing touchdown was the Rebels’ fourth of the game against a Georgia defense that had allowed just four all season before Saturday.

Georgia’s offense continued its very productive day, marching 75 yards in 12 plays and scoring on Stockton’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Frazier on the left side. That cut the Rebel lead to 35-33 with 12:56 remaining in the game. The Bulldogs had scored on every possession so far — four touchdowns and three field goals — but the UGA defense hadn’t yet kept the Rebels out of the end zone on any of their drives.

The Georgia defense got that first stop on Ole Miss’ next possession, forcing the game’s first punt. Linebacker CJ Allen pressured Chambliss on his third-down attempt and forced the incompletion. The Bulldogs made the most of the stop, marching 67 yards in nine plays and taking a 40-35 lead with 7:29 remaining on Stockton’s third touchdown pass to Luckie, this one covering 7 yards. Luckie had four receiving TDs in his career coming into the game.

Georgia’s defense forced a second straight three-and-out, and the offense drove into Rebel territory before having to settle for a 42-yard Woodring field goal, pushing the Bulldog lead to 43-35 with 2:06 remaining. The UGA defense got one more stop on Ole Miss’ final drive, getting regular pressure on Chambliss, to secure the win.

The Bulldogs are off next Saturday before heading to Jacksonville to take on Florida on Nov. 1 at EverBank Stadium.