Three biggest things Georgia must do to beat Ole Miss in CFP Sugar Bowl
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Georgia football has already had one rematch this season.
Here comes another in the Sugar Bowl with Ole Miss, a team against which it needed to rally in the fourth quarter to beat 43-35 on Oct. 18.
The No. 3-seeded Bulldogs are coming off a 28-7 win over Alabama to avenge a regular-season loss in Athens.
If the Crimson Tide can beat a couple of higher seeded teams in the next two rounds, there could be a round three against Georgia in the national title game.
The Bulldogs are 4-0 in rematches in the same season under Kirby Smart, who downplayed second games against teams.
“Yeah, I think as we talked about with Alabama, it’s really overrated in terms of rematches and things like that,” Smart said. “I think it’s, how you play defines what the outcome of the game is. Your ability to be explosive, not turn the ball over, win situational football, the middle eight. There’s all kinds of things in that thing to figure it out, and it really has very little to do with the time before you played them. I mean, everybody’s going to watch the time before you played them, because you’ve got to look at the matchups. But I don’t think either team is exactly the same. Both teams have evolved some, and everybody will have new wrinkles. That’s what you do during this time.”
How Georgia vs. Ole Miss match up for Sugar Bowl
Let’s walk through the three most crucial factors to the Bulldogs leaving New Orleans with a win and a berth in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
1. Keep Trinidad Chambliss in check
The Ole Miss quarterback went from Division II Ferris State to an eighth-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting. The 6-foot, 200-pounder became the starter in week 3 and is a big reason the Rebels made the CFP for the first time. Chambliss is No. 2 in the SEC in passing efficiency for an offense that leads the SEC and is No. 2 nationally in total yards at 498 per game.
Chambliss was 19 of 36 for 263 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 42 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Georgia did not sack him in the first game, but the Bulldogs have 12 sacks in their last five contests. The Bulldogs need to be sound on the back end.
2. Avoid catastrophic plays
It may be hard to remember given the 23-10 loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl a year ago, but the Bulldogs gave up just 244 total yards to the Fighting Irish.
What crippled Georgia was giving up a touchdown with 27 seconds left in the first half after Gunner Stockton was sacked and fumbled and surrendering a 98-yard kickoff return touchdown to open the second half. That turned a 6-3 Irish lead into a 20-3 lead. It didn’t help that the Bulldogs had a sideline infraction on a walk-on who wasn’t dressed for the game on a 66-yard completion to Arian Smith. Georgia settled for a field goal.
This Bulldogs team has avoided too many game-changing plays like those during their 12-1 season.
3. Run, baby, run
Georgia has rushed for at least 141 yards in four of its last five games. That’s come during a stretch when Nate Frazier has led the Bulldogs in all of those games, including 181 rushing yards against Mississippi State and 108 against Georgia Tech.
Georgia is likely to still be without starting center Drew Bobo with a foot injury, but the time between games should benefit Chauncey Bowens, who has been banged up in the second half of the season. He’s rushed for 70 yards since the Florida game and did not play in the final two games of the regular season.
Sixth-seed Ole Miss ranks 13th in the SEC in run defense at 147.8 yards per game. Georgia rushed for 221 yards against Ole Miss in their first game.
What Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said about Georgia
Brett Thorson won the Ray Guy Award this month. The senior didn’t get to show off his leg at all against Ole Miss in the first game because Georgia’s offense was that good.
“Well, hopefully, we can get them to at least punt one time,” Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said. “I think that would be a good start. … They do a really good job on offense, using multiple formations, creating extra gaps. They do a good job really running the football. The run sets up their play-action. Then I think their quarterback who’s got experience is playing at a really high level. He’s very accurate. He makes good decisions, so to have a chance, you gotta be able to stop the run, which is easier said than done. We’ve gotta be really smart on the back end and play to our help and leverage and change that picture for him.”
Georgia vs. Ole Miss history
Georgia leads Ole Miss 35-13-1 all-time. The Bulldogs lead 4-3 at neutral sites. The last time they met in a game other than in Athens or Oxford was a 49-21 Bulldog win in 1985. That game was one of five played in Jackson, Miss. The teams also played in Memphis in 1942 and Atlanta in 1955. Georgia is 1-2 against the Rebels under Kirby Smart, including the win in Athens this season.
When does Georgia play next?
The College Football Playoff quarterfinals are scheduled for Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The Bulldogs and Rebels play in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. ET in New Orleans.
College Football Playoff schedule 2025-26
- First round: Dec. 19 and 20
- Quarterfinals: Dec. 31 and Jan. 1
- Semifinals: Jan. 8 and 9
- National championship: Jan. 19
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: How Georgia can beat Ole Miss a second time in CFP Sugar Bowl
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