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Ole Miss stuns Georgia 39-34 in chaotic Sugar Bowl classic

Jan 2, 2026 | 7:21 AM

Amber Searls-Imagn Images

By Chris Marler

NEW ORLEANS — It was the wildest, and most chaotic ending of the 2025-2026 postseason, as Ole Miss upset the SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs 39-34 in the Sugar Bowl. 

The Story 

Ole Miss barely has a coach. Georgia has arguably the best in the sport. That didn’t seem to matter in the Sugar Bowl Thursday night in New Orleans. 

The staples that have made Georgia so dominant under Kirby Smart, and the foundational pieces of their identity were turned upside down against Ole Miss. The halftime adjustments, punishing run game, and suffocating defense were on display. They were just in powder blue and red.

Not Georgia. 

The Rebels trailed 21-12 at halftime, after a first half that ended with clock mismanagement and field goal fire drill where Ole Miss was unable to line up for an attempt. They came out of halftime and forced a three-and-out, and after a missed field goal on Georgia’s second drive, the Ole Miss offense found its rhythm. The Rebels scored on four of their final five possessions and outscored the Bulldogs 27-13 in the second half. 

Trinidad Chambliss was outstanding, completing 30-of-46 passes for 376 yards and two touchdowns. The defense was the story though. They held Georgia to a season low conversions on third down, stifled their run game, swingling momentum that allowed the Rebels to take a 34-24 lead in the fourth quarter. 

Georgia fought back to tie it 34-34 with less than a minute to play. Facing the option of going to overtime or trying to win it in regulation with no timeouts left, Pete Golding put his faith in the hands of his quarterback and kicking game. The Rebels went 45 yards in 50 seconds and kicked a game winning 47 yard field goal. 

Ole Miss showed every bit of the championship mettle needed to win a title against Georgia and proved a lot of doubters wrong in the process. The Rebels will travel to the Fiesta Bowl for the CFP Semifinal where they’ll face Miami with a championship game berth on the line. 

The Stats 

56: Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carniero hit a Sugar Bowl record 56 yard field goal in the first quarter against Georgia. 

-7.6: Georgia averaged 9.3 ypc on their eight rush attempts in the first half (eight rush, 74 yards). They averaged just 1.7 ypc the rest of the game. 

72.2: Trinidad Chambliss completed 72.2 percent of his passes in the second half and over 10 yards per attempt. 

23.1: Georgia converted just 23.1 percent of their third downs. It was the second lowest third down conversion percentage for Georgia in the last two seasons only second to last year’s Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame. 

1: There is only one SEC team left in the College Football Playoff. 

The Social Media Reaction 

Chris Marler

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