Ole Miss downs Georgia 39-34 in Sugar Bowl to reach CFP semifinals

Mississippi platers and coach celebrate a win against Georgia after the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss passed for 362 yards and two touchdowns, and Lucas Carneiro kicked his third field goal of the game with 6 seconds left to put sixth-seed Mississippi in front for good in a 39-34 victory over third-seed Georgia in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night.

In an unusual twist, Ole Miss was awarded a safety on its final kickoff when Georgia’s return team tried a cross-field lateral that hit the pylon.

Georgia then recovered an onside kick and ran one more play in which they executed numerous laterals before the play fizzled, sending Ole Miss (13-1, CFP No. 6 seed) on to a semifinal against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl next Thursday.

Kicking off on the heels of two lopsided CFP quarterfinals at the Orange and Rose bowls, the Sugar Bowl provided drama until the end.

After seeing a 21-12 halftime lead turn into a 34-24 deficit with 9:02 to play, Georgia (12-2, CFP No. 3 seed) rallied to tie it, first driving for Gunner Stockton’s 18-yard TD pass to Zachariah Branch before Peyton Woodring’s short field goal tied it with 55 seconds left in regulation.

Chambliss responded by setting up the winning kick with a 40-yard pass to De’Zhaun Stribling on third down from Mississippi’s own 30-yard line. A few plays later, Carneiro, who’d already broken Sugar Bowl records with field goals of 55 and 56 yards, hit from 47 and sprinted triumphantly toward the Ole Miss sideline as the Rebels jubilantly swarmed around him.

Harrison Wallace III caught nine passed for 156 yards and one TD, Stribling finished with seven catches for 122 yards, Kewan Lacy rushed for 98 yards and two TDs, and the Rebels outgained the Bulldogs 473 yards to 343.

Stockton passed for 203 yards and one touchdown, and also ran for two scores.

Both quarterbacks made big plays under duress.

Twice, Chambliss appeared to be running for his life to avoid sacks, retreating well behind the line of scrimmage and changing direction before finding back-yard-type completions during a 75-yard scoring drive that ended with Lacy’s second touchdown of the game.

Stockton twice completed passes moments before absorbing heavy hits, both of which took him off his feet and one of which looked like unpenalized head contact that left him flat on his back.

Both also converted high-pressure fourth-down passes in the fourth quarter to keep alive scoring drives when their team trailed.

In the third quarter, Chambliss found Wallace over the middle for a 36-yard gain on fourth down to the Georgia 8, setting up Lacy’s 7-yard scoring run around the right end to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 21-19.

Stockton completed a 16-yard pass to Zachariah Branch on fourth and 9 near midfield in the waning minutes, setting up the tying field goal.

Georgia also converted a fake punt from its own 30 with a reverse pass from Landon Roldan to Lawson Luckie in the third quarter, sustaining a drive that culminated with Woodring’s 37-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 24-19 lead.

But after Ole Miss had taken a 27-24 lead, Georgia again ran an offensive play on fourth down in its own territory and Stockton was sacked. Chambliss cashed in soon after with a back-should touchdown pass to Wallace to make it 34-24.

Ole Miss led 6-0 after Carneiro’s two longer field goals in the first quarter.

Georgia took its first lead at 7-6 on Stockton’s 12-yard run.

Chambliss quickly led Mississippi back in front, hitting Stribling for 39 yards down the left sidelined before finding Luke Hasz crossing the back of the end zone for a 3-yard TD.

Stockton put the Bulldogs back in front on a short keeper — one play after being flatted by what appeared to be an illegal hit to the head by linebacker Tahj Chambers as the quarterback released a 26-yard completion to Cash Jones.

Lacy fumbled on Mississippi’s next series, and the ball bounced straight to Daylen Everette, who ran 47 yards untouched for his first-career touchdown to make it 21-12.

The takeaway

Ole Miss: While Lane Kiffin put this Rebels team together and led it to an 11-1 regular season, his departure for LSU — traumatic as it may have been for Ole Miss fans — hasn’t stopped the team from forging ahead under newly promoted coach Pete Golding. The former Rebels defensive coordinator is now 2-0 in his head coaching career, with both victories coming in the CFP.

Georgia: This marked the second straight year the Bulldogs earned a bye in the two-year-old 12-team CFP format, only to fall in a quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl to a team that had played in the first round. Last season, Georgia’s season ended in the Superdome at the hands of Notre Dame.

Up next

Ole Miss: The Rebels remain alive in their first CFP appearance and now brace for a 10th-seeded Miami squad that has staged back-to-back CFP upsets.

Georgia: Opens its 2026 season at home against Tennessee State on Sept. 5.

(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)