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Starting QB a mystery for Georgia at Mississippi

Sep 26, 2006 - 10:24 PM No. 10 Georgia (4-0) at Ole Miss (1-3), 9:00 pm EDT

OXFORD, Mississippi (Ticker) - Georgia coach Mark Richt is content not to tip his hand.

Either Matthew Stafford or Joe Cox will start behind center for the 10th-ranked Bulldogs when they visit Mississippi in a Southeastern Conference matchup Saturday.

Stafford, a true freshman, struggled mightily last week before Cox, a redshirt freshman, came off the bench to lead the Bulldogs to two late touchdown drives in a 14-13 victory over winless Colorado.

Cox, who threw a go-ahead 20-yard touchdown to tight end Martrez Milner with 46 seconds left, was named the SEC Freshman of the Week. He and Stafford are splitting snaps with the first-team offense this week, and Richt said he would not announce a starter until Saturday.

"With Joe Cox and Matthew Stafford, we have two young guys who are in the process of getting confidence and getting settled in," Richt said. "And while that's happening, I don't want to make any snap decisions."

However, Richt did name a first-string tailback, saying Kregg Lumpkin will get the nod ahead of struggling starter Thomas Brown.

Georgia (4-0, 1-0 SEC East) has won six straight meetings with Mississippi. The teams have not met since 2002.

The Rebels (1-3, 0-1 West) have lost three consecutive contests since a season-opening win over Memphis. Last Saturday, Ole Miss mustered just 26 rushing yards in a 27-3 home loss to Wake Forest.