Georgia keeps No. 1 spot in Fornelli's ratings, but Gunner Stockton's slump is the worry

Georgia is still No. 1 in Tom Fornelli's weekly college football power ratings at CBS Sports. His write-up spends more time on the Bulldogs' weak spot than on their ranking. Fornelli says quarterback Gunner Stockton has played poorly in each of the last two games, and that includes Saturday's 27-8 win over Florida. He lists Georgia's national title price at +350, and his warning is direct: "You aren't winning three playoff games with performances like those from your QB."

The box score supports him. RotoWire had Stockton at 13 of 23 for 101 yards against the Gators, plus 45 yards on 12 carries. That 56.5 percent completion rate was his lowest of the season, and it was the first game this year in which he did not account for a touchdown. Georgia's two touchdowns came on short fields set up by takeaways. The week before, Stockton and the offense came up short in a 27-24 home loss to Auburn.

The scoring trend says the same thing. Over its first five games, Georgia put up 257 points, an average of 51.4. Over the last three, against Alabama, Auburn and Florida, it has scored 71, or about 23.7 per game. The defense has kept the season on course. Georgia's 41.0 points per game still leads the SEC, and it allows 14.9, which Ole Miss Athletics' game preview ranks first in the league. Georgia is No. 2 in the AP poll.

What it means for Saturday at Ole Miss

Now comes the toughest road trip left on the schedule. Georgia (7-1) visits No. 12 Ole Miss on Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Central on ABC. Fornelli moved the Rebels up one spot to seventh. He liked how they handled Auburn: after a slow first half, they scored on every second-half possession except the ones where they were running out the clock. Ole Miss is 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the SEC. The two programs have split their last four meetings, and the most recent was Ole Miss' 39-34 win in last season's College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl.

That sets up a test of Georgia's defense against a Rebels offense that is scoring easily. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has averaged 312.5 passing yards in two career games against the Bulldogs, according to the school's notes. If Stockton plays the way he did against Florida, Georgia may need another game where takeaways create its offense.

The market still has Georgia ahead. On this site's Georgia at Ole Miss board, which tracks 12 venues, Georgia is favored at -170 on Novig, roughly a 63 percent implied chance. The best Georgia price anywhere is -165 at Hard Rock Bet, and Ole Miss is +160 on Novig. On the spread, Georgia is favored by 3.5 points, priced at -104 on Novig with the Rebels at -102. The total is 56.5.

The venues are close on the number itself. The biggest difference is the built-in margin. Novig's two moneyline prices add up to a margin of about 1.4 percent, while the sportsbooks' hold on the same market runs from 3.6 to 6.5 percent. A 3.5-point spread and a total in the high 50s suggest the market expects a close game that Georgia is more likely to win, not a comfortable road win.