When Pete Golding arrived in Oxford in January, he immediately overhauled Ole Miss’ defense via the transfer portal.

It was an indictment of the personnel that he had inherited. For the better part of nine games — the 55-49 win over LSU notwithstanding — Golding had put band-aids and tape over the holes in the Rebels’ defense as Ole Miss raced to an 8-1 start, including a 5-1 mark in the Southeastern Conference.

On Saturday night in Athens, Ga., the nation’s best team exposed them all.

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There was nothing Golding could do against Georgia as the top-ranked Bulldogs cruised to a 52-17 win over No. 10 Ole Miss at Sanford Stadium. There’s no play-call that works when the opposing offensive line is winning at the line of scrimmage every play. There’s no scheme that works when opposing receivers are faster, stronger and more athletic than the defenders covering them. There’s no blitz good enough when the opposing offensive line is locked in and the opposing quarterback is distributing dime after dime.

That’s what happened Saturday night. Georgia scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, rolling up 277 yards on its first 26 plays. The Bulldogs finished with 611 yards on 61 snaps, a cool 10-yard per play average.

Speaking of 26, there’s a reason Georgia has won 26 straight games. The Bulldogs haven’t lost since the 2022 SEC Championship Game. They’ve now won 37 straight regular season games. The back-to-back national champions wrapped up another trip to the SEC Championship Game earlier Saturday when Tennessee lost to Missouri. They’ll face Alabama in Atlanta on the first Saturday in December.

Ole Miss should remember all of that when it wakes up Sunday. There’s no shame whatsoever in losing to Georgia. None. The Rebels, a fast-rising program that is now 26-10 in its last 36 games, dating back to the start of the 2021 season, should let Saturday’s game in Athens serve as a barometer of sorts. Twice this season, Ole Miss has lost — in Tuscaloosa and now in Athens. Those are undoubtedly the standard-bearers for the SEC — and maybe for the entire country. That’s who Lane Kiffin and Co. are chasing. It’s quite a mountain to climb, as Ole Miss has learned the hard way.

Still, Ole Miss can make this season a resounding success with two wins in the next 12 days. The Rebels entertain ULM on Saturday at 11 a.m. (SEC Network) before traveling to Mississippi State on Thanksgiving night (6:30, ESPN). If Ole Miss wins both games — the Rebels will be prohibitive favorites in both contests — it’ll finish 10-2 and very likely earn a spot in one of four New Year’s Six access bowls — the Cotton, Orange, Fiesta or Peach. The Citrus Bowl in Orlando, which matches an SEC team versus a Big Ten foe, would be the Rebels’ postseason destination floor.

On Black Friday, Ole Miss will do what so many will do — go shopping. The Rebels have assembled a strong defensive line recruiting class already, and they’re almost certainly not through. To win the SEC, you have to be dominant up front on defense. Alabama and Georgia say hello. Ole Miss has to recruit and develop those players. The Rebels have to get faster at linebacker and safety. They have to land some lock-down cornerbacks that allow Golding flexibility schematically. Golding needs bigger, faster, stronger, longer players. He needs more athleticism to work with. He knows that. Kiffin knows that. They’ll look to finish out the recruiting class and then dive back into the NCAA transfer portal to supplement the areas they can’t address via recruiting.

Championships are recruited before they’re won. Kiffin knows that. He’s been part of championship programs at USC and Alabama. Golding spent the past four seasons at Alabama. He’s well aware, also. It’s why Kiffin referred to Saturday’s game at Georgia as playing with “house money.” He knew a lot of things out of his and his team’s control would have to break his way for Ole Miss to knock off the Bulldogs.

He knew Kirby Smart and Co. would be locked in. He was right. The Bulldogs played their A-game in prime time in a raucous Sanford Stadium. It’s quite likely no team — not Alabama, not Michigan, not Washington, not Florida State, not anyone — was beating Georgia Saturday night. No team has three-peated in college football since Minnesota in the 1930s. If Georgia replicates Saturday night’s showing, the Bulldogs will likely match the Gophers’ accomplishment some 90 years later.

Ole Miss will flush Saturday night on Sunday and get ready for the Warhawks and a much less dangerous set of Bulldogs over the next 12 days. This is a mature, proud, hard-working team. Barring a disaster, it will finish with 10 wins for the second time in three years, be awarded with a prestigious bowl game and then finish this season in style. Anyone with an ounce of objectivity would call that a resounding success.

There’s a gap to be closed, and there’s only one way to close it. As Ole Miss prepares to enter a new era of college football next fall, it now knows just how expansive that divide is.

Saturday was a painful lesson for Ole Miss, sure, but it was a necessary one. And at some point in the coming years, it will almost certainly be remembered as quite valuable.