Beck passes for 459 yards and 3 TDs as No. 5 Georgia holds off Van Buren, Mississippi State 41-31
By CHARLES ODUM
Posted 10/12/24
Carson Beck passed for a career-high 459 yards with three touchdowns and No. 5 Georgia withstood Mississippi State’s second-half comeback bid for a 41-31 win. Georgia improved to 5-1 overall and …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
Beck passes for 459 yards and 3 TDs as No. 5 Georgia holds off Van Buren, Mississippi State 41-31
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) calls an audible during an NCAA college football game against Mississippi State, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)
Posted
By CHARLES ODUM
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Carson Beck passed for a career-high 459 yards and three touchdowns and No. 5 Georgia withstood Mississippi State's second-half comeback bid for a 41-31 win Saturday.
Georgia (5-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) played at times as if it were looking ahead to next week's visit to No. 1 Texas but had enough offense for its 28th consecutive home win.
Georgia led 34-10 early in the second half before freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr., making his second start, led the Bulldogs (1-5, 0-3) to two straight touchdowns. Van Buren's strong performance was not enough to prevent Mississippi State's fifth consecutive loss.
With Georgia leading 34-24, Beck led a 16-play touchdown drive to put the game away. On fourth down at the MSU 1, Trevor Etienne was pushed across the goal line by Georgia's offensive line.
Van Buren completed 20 of 37 passes for 306 yards and three touchdowns, including scoring passes of 24 and 35 yards to Kelly Akharaiyi, and one interception. The 35-yarder with 1:47 remaining again trimmed Georgia's lead to 10 points.
Beck completed 36 passes, matching Georgia's record, on 48 attempts but threw two interceptions.
Mississippi State was held without a first down in the first quarter but broke through with Van Buren's 72-yard pass to Mario Craver in the second to set up the Bulldogs' first touchdown.
Penalties pushed State back before Van Buren threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Akharaiyi, who slipped behind cornerback Daylen Everette. It was Van Buren's first career scoring pass and cut Georgia's lead to 13-10.
Georgia answered quickly with Beck's 31-yard touchdown pass to Dillon Bell, whose left toe tap at the back of the end zone made the catch count. Beck added a 1-yard scoring pass to tight end Lawson Luckie minutes later for a 27-10 halftime lead.
Beck's 27 completions in the first half left him only two away from matching his career high for a game. He completed 29 passes at Vanderbilt in 2023.
Beck opened the second half with a 42-yard scoring pass to Arian Smith. Beck's streak of 16 consecutive completions ended when his pass for Luckie in the end zone was picked off by cornerback DeAgo Brumfield for a touchback.
The takeaway
Mississippi State: The SEC's last-ranked scoring defense was overwhelmed by Beck and the Georgia passing game. State entered the game allowing an average of 31.6 points per game — Georgia topped that on a three-play drive to open the second half. State gave up 605 yards.
Georgia: RB Branson Robinson ran for 12 yards and a touchdown before leaving with a right knee injury early in the second quarter. RB Roderick Robinson has not played this season after having toe surgery, and the loss of Branson Robinson makes depth at the position behind Etienne a concern.
Up next
Mississippi State: Returns home to play No. 15 Texas A&M on Saturday.
Georgia: Plays at No. 1 Texas in what could be a top-five showdown on Saturday.