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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Georgia had the ball most of the
night on Saturday and did a lot with it, except get into the end zone. Hap Hines made up for it, though, and the Bulldogs (No. 23 ESPN/USA Today, No. 21 AP) left Oxford with a 20-17 victory over No. 16 Mississippi.
Hines kicked four field goals to provide most of the points
Saturday and the Bulldogs (7-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) held
on to edge the Rebels (7-3, 4-3) behind Quincy Carter's 349 yards
passing and a late interception by Terreal Bierria.
"It was a clutch field goal he made at the end there," Georgia
coach Jim Donnan said of Hines' 48-yard game winner with 5:24 to
play. "All of them are good, but that was a big one, the biggest
of the year. It's been a long career, and I'm glad to see him go out
with that one."
Said Hines: "I feel so happy I could cry. It's good for your
teammates to call you 'Happy.' They used to call me `Happy.' "
Hines' other field goals covered 23, 27 and 51 yards.
Carter completed 26 of 41 passes to get Hines into field goal
position and help the Bulldogs control the clock. They had the ball
for 39:36 compared to 20:24 for the Rebels.
"It came down to just guts tonight, that's the bottom line,"
Carter said.
The Bulldogs rolled up 456 yards of offense to 316 for Ole Miss.
"The time of possession killed us," said Mississippi offensive
tackle Todd Wade. "We just had too few opportunities."
Carter's lone touchdown pass came on fourth-and-goal from the Ole Miss 3 when he hit Terrence Edwards. Carter then threw a 2-point
conversion pass to Michael Greer to tie the game at 17-all with
8:25 left to play.
After Hines' 48-yarder, Mississippi drove from its own 14 to the
Georgia 14 in just three plays. Romaro Miller hit Charles
Stackhouse for 41 yards and Joe Gunn raced 31 yards on the next
play.
From the Georgia 13, Miller's third-down pass over the middle
was picked off by Bierria, who juggled the ball.
The officials at first ruled it an incompletion, which would
have given the Rebels a chance at a 30-yard field goal to tie with
four minutes left.
But the officials reversed themselves and ruled it, correctly as
replays showed, an interception.
"It was a very close call," referee Bill Goss said. "After
discussing the play, it was the consensus that it was a catch."
Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe didn't quibble with the call.
"It looked to me like he caught it," he said. "That's what
you want them to do, to have the integrity to change their minds."
Miller completed 10 of 24 passes for 114 yards, and played on an
injured ankle most of the second half.
Deuce McAllister gained 104 yards and scored twice, including an 84-yard touchdown run to give the Rebels a 17-9 lead early in the
fourth quarter. It was the longest run in the SEC this season.
Gunn added 103 yards rushing for Mississippi, the first time two
backs gained 100 in a game against Georgia since 1994.
McAllister's long run seemed to energize the Bulldogs as much as it did the Ole Miss crowd of 50,876.
Georgia took the ensuing kickoff and went 80 yards in 12 plays
to score on Carter's short fourth-down pass to Edwards.
Carter hit Greer for 18 yards, Jermaine Phillips for 21, and
Greer again for 26 in the drive.
Ole Miss went three-and-out on its next possession and Georgia
again drove quickly down field.
A holding penalty and a personal foul against the Rebels helped.
The drive stalled at the Mississippi 30 and Hines hit the
game-winner.
Hines' 51-yard field goal with 5:40 to play in the third quarter
pulled Georgia to within a point at 10-9.
The Bulldogs began the drive at their own 35 after a 5-yard punt
by Reagan King, who was trying for the coffin corner but hooked it
almost straight out of bounds.
McAllister's 84-yard burst came two plays after the Bulldogs had
pulled to within 10-9. He went off right tackle on a trap play and
was never touched.
Ole Miss drove 80 yards in nine plays, aided by 20 yards in
penalties against the Bulldogs, to take a 7-0 lead on McAllister's
3-yard run in the first quarter.
Georgia came back to get a 27-yard field goal by Hines to cut it
to 7-3 late in the quarter.
Ole Miss got a 25-yard run from Gunn to set up Les Binkley's
44-yard field goal to make it 10-3 at halftime.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Georgia Clubhouse
Mississippi Clubhouse
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