NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Sensing the game might be getting away, Georgia coach Kirby Smart appeared to junk any semblance of conservatism in favor of straight-up gambling in the second half of a quarterfinal College Football Playoff clash against Mississippi at the Sugar Bowl.
A trio of fourth-down tries from Bulldogs territory did not pay off enough even though two of them produced drive-sustaining first downs. Ahead 21-12 at halftime on Thursday night, Georgia lost 39-34 after Ole Miss kicked a tiebreaking field goal with six seconds left.
Smart called for a fake punt on fourth-and-6 from the Bulldogs’ 30 after the Rebels scored a touchdown to pull within 21-19 in the third quarter.
That play worked, with wide receiver Landon Roldan taking a handoff and completing a pass to tight end Lawson Luckie for 17 yards, prolonging a drive that ended in a 37-yard field goal by Peyton Woodring.
“We had lost momentum at that point,” Smart said. “We were leading, but we felt like we could get momentum back with that play. We felt like it was there, and the kids did a great job executing it.”
Unfazed, Ole Miss scored a touchdown on its next possession and converted a 2-point play, going ahead 27-24. That prompted the Bulldogs to take another huge risk — and this time it failed.
Smart had the offense race on to the field on fourth-and-2 from the Georgia 33 early in the fourth quarter to catch the Rebels off guard, but quarterback Gunner Stockton was sacked for a 10-yard loss, handing the ball to Ole Miss at the Bulldogs’ 23.
“We screwed that up a little bit,” Smart said. “We had a misfire there. The ball was not supposed to be snapped in that situation, but that was on us and the coaches. The book said we needed to go for it, but we could have taken a delay (penalty).”
The Rebels needed only two plays to capitalize, going ahead 34-24 on a touchdown pass from Trinidad Chambliss to Harrison Wallace III with 9:02 left.
Smart was not done.
After the Bulldogs closed the gap to 34-31 and forced a punt, Georgia’s offense remained on the field on fourth-and-9 from the Georgia 48 with 3:13 left, even though Smart had all three timeouts remaining, along with a standard stoppage with 2 minutes left.
Stockton found Zachariah Branch for 16 yards, leading to a tying 24-yard field goal with 56 seconds left.
“No chance I’m punting there,” Smart said. “We’re not going to get another possession possibly. We had three timeouts to stop them if we didn’t get it.”
Turns out what they really needed was a go-ahead touchdown to avoid losing in the same round and at the same venue as last season against Notre Dame — both times as a higher-seeded favorite coming off a bye.
“I’m sick that we lost, and there’s things I would love to go back and do differently, Smart said. “But I’m just so proud of the way our guys competed when down ten. We just didn’t finish it.”
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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart embarces his players after a loss to Mississippi after the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) is sacked by Mississippi during the second half of the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart speaks to quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) before the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game against Mississippi, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton Hinton)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With Trinidad Chambliss making stunning plays at pivotal moments, Mississippi is doing fine without Lane Kiffin.
Chambliss passed for 362 yards and two touchdowns, and Lucas Carneiro kicked a 47-yard field goal with 6 seconds left to put No. 6 Mississippi in front for good in a 39-34 victory over third-ranked Georgia in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night.
“A lot of people did doubt us before the season and they still doubted us when our coach left,” Chambliss said. “We just want to play ball and have fun, and I think that’s showing right now.”
The Rebels (13-1, CFP No. 6 seed) have now won two postseason games since Kiffin left for LSU on Nov. 30 and defensive coordinator Pete Golding was promoted to fill the vacancy at the top of the staff. Next up for Ole Miss is a semifinal matchup with Miami at the Fiesta Bowl.
“We’ve got a lot of good coaches,” Golding said, referring in part to assistants who have agreed to join Kiffin at LSU, but who’ve been permitted to remain with the Rebels through this postseason.
“A lot of guys have been going through a lot of things but they’ve been here for the kids the whole time,” Golding continued. “And this is a special group of kids.”
Kicking off on the heels of two lopsided CFP quarterfinals at the Orange and Rose bowls, the all-SEC match-up at the Sugar Bowl provided drama throughout.
“It was an incredible college football game,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “It’s what the CFP was built for, to have battles like that. And that was basically every conference game we had this year.”
While Carneiro's late kick was the decisive score, Ole Miss was awarded a safety on its final kickoff when Georgia’s return team tried a cross-field lateral that hit the pylon with 1 second left.
“I’m sick that we lost, and there’s things I would love to go back and do differently,” Smart said. “But I’m just so proud of the way our guys competed.”
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 30-yard line. A few plays later, Carneiro, who’d already broken Sugar Bowl records with field goals of 55 and 56 yards, connected again and sprinted triumphantly toward the Ole Miss sideline as the Rebels jubilantly swarmed around him.
“They’re never scared and they don’t panic, and that’s what I love about this group,” Golding said of his players. “They don’t ever get too high; they don’t get too low. They want to get coached. They want to get coached hard, and they want another opportunity.”
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 school yard-type completions during a 75-yard scoring drive that ended with Lacy’s second touchdown.
“Their quarterback is just incredible,” Smart said. “I mean, he does an unbelievable job of not (taking) sacks and making plays with his legs.”
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.
“Just playing for everybody on the team and just trying to give my best effort,” Stockton said.
Both QBs also converted fourth-down passes 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 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 by Suntarine Perkins. Chambliss cashed in soon after with a back-shoulder touchdown pass to Wallace to make it 34-24.
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 score.
The lead changed again on Stockton's short keeper — one play after being flattened 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.
Ole Miss: While 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 Golding. The former Rebels defensive coordinator is now 2-0 in his head coaching career, with both victories coming in the CFP. His latest triumph also came not far from his southeastern Louisiana hometown.
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.
Ole Miss: The Rebels 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.
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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart embarces his players after a loss to Mississippi after the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Mississippi players celebrate a win over Georgia after the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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)
Georgia wide receiver Noah Thomas (5) celebrates his touchdown against Georgia during the second half of the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) dives into the end zone for a touchdown against Mississippi during the first half of the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) dives into the end zone for a touchdown against Mississippi during the first half of the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton Hinton)
Mississippi running back Kewan Lacy (5) scores a touchdown against Georgia during the second half of the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Mississippi linebacker Suntarine Perkins (4) celebrates a fumble recovery against Georgia during the second half of the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
Mississippi head coach Pete Golding and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart shake hands and laugh at the end of a joint press conference for the upcoming Sugar Bowl and college football playoff (CFP) quarterfinal game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)
