MISSISSIPPI | SEPT. 29

ATHENS, Ga. — Tailback Thomas Brown rushed for a career-high 180 yards and three touchdowns to lead Georgia to a 45-17 victory against Ole Miss on Saturday at Sanford Stadium.

Brown, a senior, had scoring runs of 50, 4 and 41 yards en route to his 180-yard performance. Brown's figure was the highest by a Bulldog since Verron Haynes rolled up 207 yards in 2001.

"Thomas played big," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "He broke out into space and made some big runs. He did just a beautiful job running. I was very, very happy for one of our senior leaders in Thomas Brown."

Georgia improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the SEC, while Ole Miss dropped to 1-4 and 0-3.

Brown paced the Bulldogs as they rolled up 328 yards on the ground — the highest figure under Richt and Georgia's best total since 1992.

Tailback Knowshon Moreno added 93 yards and a touchdown for Georgia, which averaged 7.3 yards per carry.

The Bulldogs also got a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matthew Stafford to receiver Mohamed Massaquoi and a 6-yard scoring run by fullback Fred Munzenmaier. Kicker Brandon Coutu was 6 for 6 on extra points and booted an 18-yard field goal.

"When everyone plays together, it makes us hard to stop," said Stafford, who was 13 of 21 for 144 yards. "You don't know who to shut down. If you key on Thomas or Knowshon or the receivers, we have other options."

Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe led the Georgia defense with eight tackles. Safety CJ Byrd and cornerback Asher Allen each added seven stops, while Byrd had a fumble recovery at the Bulldogs' 4 to thwart an Ole Miss scoring opportunity when the Rebels already were ahead 7-0.

"In the second half, we came out and got our focus back," said linebacker Brandon Miller, who had a fourth-quarter interception. "We have guys who run to the ball all the time and hustle. When you have guys like that, it's hard to stop them for too long."

For Ole Miss, receiver Mike Wallace caught a 45-yard touchdown pass and tailback BenJarvus Green-Ellis had a 2-yard scoring run.

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