Mississippi State 72 – Georgia 69. It hurt. Georgia twice led by 13 on the road in Starkville and appeared to have the game in hand. Inability to get the ball upcourt against pressure combined with deadly outside shooting by MSU allowed the hosts to erase Georgia’s late lead and eventually win the game. MSU finished the game scoring 21 of the game’s last 26 points. Georgia has played three good SEC teams to the wire, but they haven’t been able to notch that first win yet. They’ll get another chance on Wednesday against Tennessee. 8-8 overall, 0-3 SEC

Georgia 73 – Arkansas 63. The Lady Dogs rebounded from Thursday’s ugly loss at Vanderbilt with a convincing win at Arkansas. The final margin was ten points, but Georgia led by as many as 25 late in the second half. The biggest difference from Thursday’s loss was backcourt production. Ashley Houts and Jasmine James combined for 22 points, 19 assists, and just 3 turnovers. At Vandy, they managed a combined 14 points, 6 assists, and 6 turnovers. Freshman Jasmine Hassell’s 14 points matched the production of the two starting post players. This was a potentially dangerous game: Arkansas stunned Georgia in Athens last year, and the trip to Fayetteville lay between two important games against Vanderbilt and Tennessee. 17-1 overall, 4-1 SEC

Lakatos hired as defensive backs coach. Georgia announced the hiring of Scott Lakatos on Monday. He’ll coach the secondary. Lakatos was at UConn since 2004 and has primarily coached in the northeast. UConn has had a decent defense over the past few years (especially relative to the talent in place), and their pass defense was a big part of that. He’s also put several players into the NFL including Tyvon Branch and Darius Butler. We’ll learn more about Lakatos after a Monday afternoon teleconference. With the hire of Lakatos and coordinator Todd Grantham, Georgia has one remaining vacancy on its staff.

Alabama 196.275 – Georgia 195.5 The Gym Dogs started off the new season with a relatively shaky win over Stanford, and SEC rival Alabama handed them their first loss of the season over the weekend. Losses in gymnastics aren’t as devastating as they are in other sports – your average score matters more than outright wins or losses. You can look back at the 2005 team that lost four straight meets during the season and rebounded to win the SEC and national titles.

Commitments honored Georgia commitment Da’Rick Rogers of Calhoun was named the MaxPreps Small Schools National Player of the Year. Rogers, one of the best prep receivers in the nation, visited Athens over the weekend and by all accounts had a good visit. There’s still some concern whether he’ll visit Florida, but for now Rogers continues to be committed to Georgia. Meanwhile, safety Alec Ogletree of Newnan and defensive tackle Garrison Smith of Douglass were named Bobby Dodd national players of the year at their respective positions by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta.