STARKVILLE, Miss. — The fifth-ranked Georgia football team used a dominant second quarter to pull ahead of Mississippi State and then rolled to a 41-21 win Saturday afternoon at Davis Wade Stadium. Quarterback Gunner Stockton and running back Nate Frazier led an explosive day for the offense, with Stockton throwing three touchdown passes and Frazier rushing for a career-high 181 yards.

Down 7-3 after the opening quarter, Georgia (8-1, 6-1 SEC) scored 21 straight points in the second to take control and earn its sixth straight win over MSU. It was the Bulldogs’ 47th consecutive win over an unranked opponent, the longest streak in the country. 

Georgia finished with a season-high 567 yards of offense — 264 passing and 303 on the ground — while holding State to 322. Stockton was 18 of 29 passing for 264 yards and the three touchdowns; Frazier needed just 12 carries to reach 181 yards, highlighted by a 59-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a 33-yarder in the fourth. Zachariah Branch led the receivers with eight catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Safety KJ Bolden led the Georgia defense with 10 tackles, defensive back Joenel Aguero added seven, and linebackers Raylen Wilson and CJ Allen had six each; Wilson also had 1.5 sacks.

State (5-5, 1-5) took its opening drive 75 yards in 14 plays, going 4-for-4 on third down, and took a 7-0 lead on quarterback Kamario Taylor’s 4-yard touchdown run. Georgia got on the scoreboard on the ensuing drive with Peyton Woodring’s 49-yard field goal, cutting MSU’s lead to 7-3 with 6:41 to go in the opening quarter. Stockton and wideout London Humphreys connected on a 36-yard pass to set up the field goal.

Georgia drove all the way down to the State 2-yard line on its next possession, but came up empty after Dillon Bell was stripped and MSU recovered. Georgia got the ball back a few plays later, with 11 seconds left in the quarter, when linebacker Quintavius Johnson knocked the ball out of quarterback Blake Shapen’s hands and Bolden recovered the fumble at the State 27.

After a 1-yard loss on a screen pass and then a 24-yard completion from Stockton to tight end Elyiss Williams, running back Chauncey Bowens scored on a 4-yard rush to put Georgia ahead 10-7 with 14:04 left in the half. The Bulldogs went ahead 17-7 when Stockton hit tight end Oscar Delp on the right side for an 8-yard touchdown with 5:09 on the clock. Earlier in the drive, Delp hauled in a 29-yard pass to the State 40.

Georgia got a defensive stop on fourth-and-5 at the UGA 23 to get the ball back with 2:25 left in the half. The Bulldogs went 77 yards in nine plays, taking a 24-7 lead with 11 seconds left on Stockton’s screen pass to the left that Branch ran in for a 19-yard touchdown.

The Bulldogs got the ball to start the second half and quickly added to their lead. On second-and-7 at the UGA 41, Frazier got free on the right side and outran everyone for a career-long 59-yard touchdown, making it 31-7. The long run put Frazier over 100 yards in a game for the first time this season and the second time in the sophomore’s career.

Georgia’s offensive fireworks continued on its next drive, this time coming through the air. On third-and-2 at the UGA 36, Stockton found Noah Thomas near the 50 and the receiver did the rest, scoring a 64-yard touchdown to push the Bulldog lead to 38-7 with 9:58 to play in the third.

After Georgia scored 38 unanswered points following State’s touchdown to open the game, MSU got into the end zone on a 1-yard Taylor run with 4:49 on the clock, cutting the lead to 38-14. Georgia answered with a 46-yard Woodring field goal on the Bulldogs’ next drive, making it 41-14 with 12:03 to play in the game.

State’s Taylor scored his third rushing touchdown of the game with 4:47 to play, running in from the 2 to make it 41-21.

Georgia is back at Sanford Stadium next Saturday night against No. 11 Texas. The Bulldogs beat the Longhorns twice in 2024, once in Austin and again in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.