Ole Miss braces for Georgia; Southern Miss falls as Mississippi teams make early-season moves

Mississippi news and sports rundown for Friday, November 6, 2026. Reporting window: after November 5 at 4:45 p.m. Central through November 6 at 4:45 p.m. Central (2026-11-05T22:45:00Z, 2026-11-06T22:45:00Z].

No. 10 Ole Miss is preparing to host No. 2 Georgia in Oxford on Saturday, the clearest statewide sports event in Friday’s coverage. The matchup arrives as Southern Miss absorbs a home football loss, Jackson State enters its home finale, and Mississippi basketball and soccer teams post consequential early-season results. The two permitted source archives were checked through the fixed cutoff; the MS News Group archive contained no originally published posts in the window. The reporting below comes from original Sports Mississippi articles published during that period.

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Mississippi Sports

Ole Miss and Georgia meet in Oxford

The Rebels are scheduled to kick off against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, with ABC carrying the game. Ole Miss’ matchup preview says its offense has scored on 30 of 31 red-zone trips and its line has allowed no sacks in the past 137 pass-blocking snaps across three games. Those are team-reported figures, not a prediction of how the Georgia defense will fare. A separate game-day guide says tickets are sold out, stadium gates open at 4:30 p.m., and construction at Jones Hall changes traffic around Grove Loop. Fans using mobile tickets are told to add them to a digital wallet; screenshots will not work for entry.

Southern Miss loses Thursday night

Southern Miss briefly led James Madison late in the first half, but the Dukes scored on their first two possessions after halftime and added 24 fourth-quarter points in a 54-23 win in Hattiesburg. John White, making his first career start at quarterback, passed for 266 yards and a touchdown. Kaden Saunders had six catches for 122 yards. The loss ended the Golden Eagles’ two-game winning streak and left them 3-6 overall and 2-3 in Sun Belt play. Southern Miss is scheduled to visit Louisiana Tech on November 14.

Jackson State hosts Mississippi Valley State

Saturday’s 2:05 p.m. meeting with Mississippi Valley State is Jackson State’s final regular-season home game. The Tigers enter at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the SWAC, tied for second in the East Division, one game behind Alabama A&M, according to the Jackson State preview. The division race remains conditional: Jackson State needs wins in its remaining games and losses by both Alabama A&M and Bethune-Cookman to take the East title, the preview says. The rivalry has been lopsided historically, but the standings make this year’s home finale meaningful beyond the series record.

Ole Miss women turn a halftime deficit into a win

No. 19/23 Ole Miss trailed North Alabama by two at halftime, then outscored the Lions 26-12 in the third quarter to win 72-51 Thursday in Oxford. Jada Richard scored 17 points and Jaida Civil added 15 as the Rebels improved to 2-0. Ole Miss began the second half with a 5-0 run and stretched its advantage to 51-39 by the end of the third period. The response after a slow opening half was the decisive part of a game that had looked much closer at the break.

Mississippi State men win by 38

Mississippi State opened with a 10-0 run and beat Northwestern State 82-44 at Humphrey Coliseum. Josh Hubbard led the Bulldogs with 15 points, moving to 1,987 for his career, 13 short of 2,000. The bench supplied 45 points, and Mississippi State outrebounded its opponent 50-34. The Bulldogs are 2-0, with Jackson State listed as their next opponent in the team’s postgame notes. This is one game, but the size of the bench contribution is a useful early marker for the new season.

Alcorn soccer sets a school mark and earns a tournament seed

Alcorn State’s women beat Alabama A&M 8-1 on Senior Day, securing a program-record seventh victory. Annick Zouma had three goals and two assists, and Grace Ambrose scored twice. The Lady Braves finished SWAC play unbeaten at 4-0-4 and earned the No. 3 tournament seed. They are scheduled to face No. 6 Alabama State in a November 12 quarterfinal in Prairie View, Texas. The result and the seed are part of one Alcorn story, rather than two separate victories.

William Carey reaches the SSAC soccer final

Souleymane Balde scored late in the second overtime to give William Carey a 1-0 semifinal victory over UT Southern in Montgomery, Alabama. Fabian Arroyo delivered the corner kick that created the chance. Goalkeeper Pablo Diez made a save in the first overtime to keep the match scoreless before Balde’s winner. The Crusaders advanced to face Faulkner in the conference championship.

Southwest Mississippi women edge Hinds

Southwest Mississippi Community College earned its first women’s basketball win of the season by holding off Hinds 63-61. Hinds moved ahead late in the fourth quarter, but Mercedes Dorsey restored the Lady Bears’ lead and later scored on a putback after a missed free throw. She finished with a team-high 12 points. The lead changed repeatedly in the third quarter, making the final possessions decisive rather than a routine closeout. Southwest improved to 1-1.

Featured image: Ole Miss coach Pete Golding in an earlier game. File photo from the MS News Group media library; Ole Miss Athletics credit. It does not depict the Georgia matchup.