The Ole Miss Rebels took on the Georgia Bulldogs in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2026 in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals in New Orleans, La. They won 39-34 and will play the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz.
First half
Georgia won the coin toss and elected to defer.
The Rebels were conservative on their first drive, only attempting short throws and a couple runs. Unlike the first game against Georgia, when Ole Miss scored on their first five drives, the Rebels were forced to punt on their opening possession.
A major focus of the Rebel defense heading into the game was to stop drives on third-and-long, something they failed to do in October. Ole Miss did not force a punt in their first game against Georgia, but they did early on this time.
Georgia’s offense was efficient early in its first drive, but Ole Miss pushed the Bulldogs to third-and-10 and they were able to get off the field.
Ole Miss looked much better on the second drive; however, they stalled out. Kicker Lucas Carneiro kicked a 55-yard field goal, the longest in Sugar Bowl history, to put Ole Miss up 3-0.
The Ole Miss defense was stout on the next drive. The Rebels snuffed out a screen pass and a run, then linebacker TJ Dottery batted a pass down on third-and-two to force a three-and-out.
Georgia batted down quarterback Trinidad Chambliss’ third-and-five pass attempt. Carneiro came on for another kick and drilled a 56-yard kick to break his own record. The Rebels went up 6-0 with just over two minutes in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs found success in the run game and finished the first quarter in plus territory. Georgia found the endzone on a run by quarterback Gunnar Stockton to take its first lead of the game, 7-6.
On the next drive, Chambliss appeared to bobble the ball on the snap, but he threw a 39-yard dime to receiver De’Zhaun Stribling to get Ole Miss in the red zone. A nine-yard completion turned into a 17-yard gain after a face mask penalty, and the Rebels faced first-and-goal from the eight yard line.
The Rebels looked to be in great position to get off the field after a tackle for loss and a sack, but two missed tackles gave Georgia 15 yards and a fresh set of downs.
A play that could have gone a pick six, or at least a tackle for loss, turned into a 24-yard gain for Georgia. Edge rusher Suntarine Perkins was in the pass lane, but could not get his hand up in time. Cornerback Jaylon Braxton missed a tackle behind the line of scrimmage.
On the next set of downs, Ole Miss once again had Georgia on the ropes until a big play put them near the goal line. The point after attempt was good, making the score 14-12. On that drive, Ole Miss had four tackles for loss, but failed to get off the field — they allowed multiple third-down conversions.
The Rebels got the ball back with just over four minutes to go in the half. Lacy fumbled on the drive and Georgia scooped it up and ran it in for a touchdown, extending the lead to 21-12.
On the next drive, the Rebels went three-and-out following a drop by wide-open tight end Dae’Quan Wright on third-and-three.
In the final two minutes, the Rebels forced a three-and-out to get the ball back. They used their remaining two timeouts and took over with 52 seconds left.
Ole Miss began their attempt to get back into the game at the 26 yard line. Chambliss completed two quick passes for 16 yards; a targeting penalty against Georgia following a reception by wide receiver Cayden Lee gave the Rebels an additional 15 yards.
Though this put them in field goal range, Wright was tackled in bounds in the closing seconds, and the Rebels, with no timeouts, ran out of time.
Several mistakes — the fumble, dropped passes and missed tackles — put Ole Miss behind by nine going into the half. Georgia was set to receive the ball to start the third quarter.
Second half
The Rebel defense came up clutch and forced a three-and-out to open the half. Defensive tackles Zxavian Harris and Will Echoles had big plays to help the defense get off the field quickly.
The offense failed to convert on a four-and-one at their own 49 yard line.
Ole Miss held Georgia to a field goal, but the 55-yard attempt was short. The Rebels got the ball back at the 37 yard line.
The Rebels once again found themselves at midfield facing fourth down. This time, though, Chambliss’ throw was caught by Harrison Wallace III for a 36-yard reception, setting up the Rebels in the red zone. Lacy’s touchdown run around the edge put the Rebels within two, 21-19, with under five minutes to go in the third.
Harris and the defense forced a Georgia three-and-out, but head coach Kirby Smart faked the punt and the Bulldogs got a fresh set of downs near midfield. On the next play, safety Wydett Williams Jr. abandoned his receiver in pursuit of Stockton, and Stockton managed to complete the pass down the sideline for a 31-yard gain.
It was a missed opportunity for the Rebels after the fake punt and chunk play, but they held Georgia to a field goal, 24-19.
Chambliss made several outstanding plays while scrambling to keep the drive alive. On second-and-11, he tossed the ball to Lacy despite significant pressure. On the next play, he circled back all the way to the end zone then found Lacy open for a first down.
Georgia blitzed again and Chambliss managed to find Wallace for a 44-yard pick up. Lacy then ran for the first down to make it first-and-goal for the Rebels.; On the next play, he scored his second touchdown of the game to put the Rebels up 25-24.
Ole Miss went for two and got it with a Wallace catch in the back of the end zone. Down 27-24, Georgia could only tie the game with a field goal. Eleven-and-a-half minutes remained in the game.
Harris, despite a blown holding call, nearly sacked Stockton. The Bulldog quarterback managed to scramble for four yards, but Ole Miss forced another three-and-out.
Georgia showed they were going to punt, then brought out the offense in an attempt to trick the Rebel special teams. Perkins got to Stockton and brought him down for an eight-yard loss and forcing a fumble, which he recovered. Ole Miss got the ball at the Georgia 23.
Chambliss threw a back-shoulder pass to Wallace for a touchdown. Ole Miss went up 34-24.
Harris, who appeared to be injured after the Rebel defense’s last third down play, returned for the next drive. The defense was on its heels after Georgia started the drive with three straight first downs. Blown coverage pushed the Bulldogs into the red zone. Stockton found receiver Zachariah Branch for the score, and got Georgia within three, 34-31, with seven minutes to go.
Defensive end De’Shawn Womack brought down Georgia running back Josh McCray for a one-yard loss, then linebacker Andrew Jones made a tackle for no gain. The Bulldogs found themselves at fourth-and-nine with the game on the line and converted to a wide-open Branch
Perkins and the Rebel front got to the quarterback and forced a holding penalty to push Georgia to first-and-20. Echoles batted down the first down pass. A screen pass got the Bulldogs to third-and-nine at the two minute warning.
A questionable pass interference call pushed Georgia to first-and-10 at the 20 yard line. A holding call then gave them another set of downs, moving them closer to the end zone.
Perkins came up with a three-yard tackle for loss to force third-and-six. Stockton’s pass on third was incomplete, and Georgia elected to kick a field goal. The Bulldogs tied it up at 34 with 56 seconds to go. Ole Miss had no timeouts remaining, while Georgia had all three.
Cayden Lee was open for a huge play, but the ball was knocked out of his hands before he could complete the catch, and time was stopped so that trainers could help him off the field. The play set up a crucial third-and-five at the Rebel 30 yard line — with 30 seconds left and all its timeouts, Georgia would have time to get into field goal range if they took over.
But Chambliss threw a deep ball to Stribling for a 42-yard reception, putting the Rebels in field goal range.
The next pass was nearly picked off on a spectacular diving effort. Chambliss threw a few straight incompletions to get to fourth down with nine seconds left.
Carneiro came on to kick a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal and he drilled it to put Ole Miss up 37-34 with just six seconds to go.
The kick off was lateralled into the end zone, resulting in a safety. After several minutes of confusion, and bringing the postgame ceremony stages on and off the field, one second was put back on the clock. The game officially ended after two plays and several laterals.
“I thought they responded the right way. Definitely didn’t play our cleanest football in the first half,” Rebel head coach Pete Golding said in a postgame press conference. “(I) kind of challenged them at halftime and said ‘look, we were nine on these guys going into the fourth quarter last time. Let’s play 30 minutes of football and out physical them and execute.'”
Chambliss won the offensive MVP and Echoles won the defensive MVP award for the game.
What’s next?
Ole Miss will travel to Glendale, Ariz., for the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 6:30. ESPN will broadcast the game.
