NEW ORLEANS — Ole Miss rallied from two scores down at halftime to beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl 39-34, as Lucas Carneiro’s 47-yard field goal with six seconds remaining proved the game-winning points.
Trinidad Chambliss’ 40-yard pass to De’Zhaun Stribling got the ball down to the UGA 30 to help set up the game-winning field goal.
Georgia, on the ensuing kick after the field goal, attempted a lateral that went into the end zone for a safety that provided the final margin.
The Bulldogs (12-2) had won 53 consecutive games under coach Kirby Smart when leading at halftime and 75 in a row when ahead entering the fourth quarter, dating to the 2018 SEC championship game.
“It was an incredible college football game,” Smart said. “It’s what the (College Football Playoff) was built for, to have battles like that.”
The Rebels, led by Trinidad Chambliss (30-of-46 passing, 362 yards, two touchdowns), rallied from 21-12 down at halftime for a 34-24 lead before withstanding a UGA comeback to win this CFP quarterfinal.
“We just needed to execute better,” Rebels coach Pete Golding said he told his team at halftime. “Told them to take a deep breath. … We’ve got good enough players to beat anybody.”
The SEC champion Bulldogs (12-2) tied the score at 34-34 with 55 seconds remaining on a Peyton Woodring 24-yard field goal.
Gunner Stockton (18-of-31 passing, 203 yards, one touchdown passing, two touchdowns rushing) had pulled UGA to trailing 34-31 with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Zachariah Branch with 7:03 left.
Ole Miss prevailed in a game that saw five lead changes, improving to 13-1 to extend the best season in the program’s modern-era history.
Golding, who was promoted from defensive coordinator when Lane Kiffin took the LSU job Nov. 30, improved to 2-0 in his new role.
The Rebels beat Tulane, 41-10, in a CFP opening-round game on Dec. 20 in Golding’s debut.
Ole Miss’ win came before a partisan crowd, as most in the crowd of 68,371 at Caesars Superdome on Thursday were wearing the school’s powder blue.
“It felt like a home game to me,” Golding said.
The Rebels will play Miami (12-2) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the CFP Fiesta Bowl semifinal at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The Hurricanes feature former UGA quarterback Carson Beck, who led the Bulldogs to a 24-3 record during his two seasons as the starter in 2023 and 2024 before transferring to Miami after last season.
The winner of the Fiesta Bowl will play the winner of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in the CFP championship game at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
Oregon (13-1) plays against Indiana (14-0) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a rematch of those teams’ regular-season meeting Oct. 11 in Eugene, Oregon, a game won by the Hoosiers 30-20.
The Ducks beat Texas Tech (12-2) on Thursday by a 23-0 count in the Orange Bowl, while No. 1-ranked Indiana scored a resounding 38-3 win over Alabama (11-4) in the Rose Bowl on Thursday.
The Ole Miss Sugar Bowl win was a rematch of an Oct. 18 meeting in Athens, a game UGA won 43-35 on the strength of a 17-0 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter.
The coaches stressed this game would be different with the teams evolving, and in the case of Ole Miss, Golding becoming the head coach.
Indeed, this time around it was the Rebels scoring the come-from-behind win in dramatic fashion with the season on the line and a championship still in sight.
“Their quarterback is just incredible,” Smart said of Chambliss. “They made more plays than we did, out-executed us, out-coached us and outplayed us.
“I’m sick that we lost, but I’m proud of the way our guys competed down 10, just didn’t finish it.”
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