Lucas Carneiro’s cleats hit turf at the Caesars Superdome with six seconds on the clock. The 47-yard field goal sailed through, and sixth-seeded Ole Miss had just beaten third-ranked Georgia 39-34 in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal on January 1, 2026.
The kick capped a wild Sugar Bowl that saw five lead changes, two fourth-down conversions in the final minutes, and a comeback attempt from Georgia that fell one possession short. For Ole Miss, the victory meant something bigger than advancing to the semifinals. They did it without Lane Kiffin, who left for LSU on November 30, 2025.
Table of Contents
Chambliss Engineers Game-Winning Drive
Trinidad Chambliss faced third-and-10 from his own 30 with 55 seconds left. Georgia had just tied the game at 34 on Peyton Woodring’s field goal. One stop, and the Bulldogs would get overtime.
Chambliss dropped back, scanned the field, and fired 40 yards downfield to De’Zhaun Stribling. First down at the Georgia 30. Three plays later, Carneiro lined up for the winner.
The junior quarterback finished 30-of-46 for 362 yards and two touchdowns. He transferred from Ferris State in April 2025 after winning the Division II national championship and the Harlon Hill Trophy. When Austin Simmons went down with an injury in Week 3, Chambliss took over and never looked back.
“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.”
Ole Miss Offensive Performance
| Player | Position | Stat Line |
|---|---|---|
| Trinidad Chambliss | QB | 30/46, 362 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT |
| Harrison Wallace III | WR | 9 rec, 156 yards, 1 TD |
| De’Zhaun Stribling | WR | 7 rec, 122 yards |
| Kewan Lacy | RB | 22 car, 98 yards, 2 TD |
| Lucas Carneiro | K | 3/3 FG (55, 56, 47), 2/2 XP |
Georgia’s Fourth-Quarter Comeback Falls Short
Down 34-24 with nine minutes remaining, Georgia clawed back. Gunner Stockton led a 75-yard drive that ended with his 18-yard touchdown pass to Zachariah Branch. Then Woodring’s 32-yard field goal tied it at 34 with 55 seconds left.
The sophomore quarterback played through heavy contact all night. He completed 18-of-31 passes for 203 yards and one touchdown while adding two rushing scores. One hit from Ole Miss linebacker Tahj Chambers appeared to be helmet-to-helmet contact, but no flag came.
“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.”
Georgia converted a fake punt on a reverse pass from Landon Roldan to Lawson Luckie in the third quarter, keeping alive a drive that led to a field goal. Stockton hit Branch on fourth-and-9 near midfield in the final minutes. But when it mattered most, Ole Miss had the ball last.
Georgia Offensive Performance
| Player | Position | Stat Line |
|---|---|---|
| Gunner Stockton | QB | 18/31, 203 yards, 1 TD pass, 2 TD rush |
| Zachariah Branch | WR | 8 rec, 67 yards, 1 TD |
| Nate Frazier | RB | 15 car, 86 yards |
| Cash Jones | RB | 2 rec, 45 yards |
Defensive Stats and Key Plays
Daylen Everette scooped up Kewan Lacy’s fumble in the second quarter and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown, giving Georgia a 21-12 lead. The score came one play after Gunner Stockton absorbed a jarring hit while completing a 26-yard pass to Cash Jones.
Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding, promoted to head coach after Kiffin’s departure, called a blitz on fourth down in the fourth quarter with Georgia driving. Suntarine Perkins got home for the sack. Two plays later, Chambliss hit Harrison Wallace III for a back-shoulder touchdown to make it 34-24.
“They’re never scared and they don’t panic, and that’s what I love about this group,” Golding said. “They don’t ever get too high; they don’t get too low.”
Defensive Leaders
| Player | Team | Tackles | Sacks | TFL | Key Plays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zxavian Harris | Ole Miss | 10 (5 solo) | 0 | 1 | Run support |
| KJ Bolden | Georgia | 10 (6 solo) | 0 | 0 | All over field |
| Daylen Everette | Georgia | 9 (6 solo) | 0 | 0 | 47-yard fumble return TD |
| Suntarine Perkins | Ole Miss | 6 (3 solo) | 1 | 2 | Fourth-down sack |
Complete Box Score
Final Score by Quarter
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ole Miss | 6 | 6 | 7 | 20 | 39 |
| Georgia | 0 | 21 | 3 | 10 | 34 |
Team Statistics
| Category | Ole Miss | Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 473 | 343 |
| Passing Yards | 362 | 219 |
| Rushing Yards | 111 | 124 |
| First Downs | 23 | 23 |
| Third Down Conversions | 5-14 | 3-13 |
| Fourth Down Conversions | 1-2 | 2-3 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Penalties | 4-48 | 4-38 |
| Time of Possession | 27:28 | 32:32 |
Passing Statistics
| Player | Team | Comp/Att | Yards | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinidad Chambliss | Ole Miss | 30/46 | 362 | 2 | 0 | 90.5 |
| Gunner Stockton | Georgia | 18/31 | 203 | 1 | 0 | 75.1 |
| Landon Roldan | Georgia | 1/1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 |
Rushing Statistics
| Player | Team | Carries | Yards | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kewan Lacy | Ole Miss | 22 | 98 | 4.5 | 2 | 16 |
| Nate Frazier | Georgia | 15 | 86 | 5.7 | 0 | 16 |
| Gunner Stockton | Georgia | 13 | 20 | 1.5 | 2 | 12 |
| Trinidad Chambliss | Ole Miss | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | 0 | 5 |
Receiving Statistics – Ole Miss
| Player | Receptions | Yards | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrison Wallace III | 9 | 156 | 17.3 | 1 | 44 |
| De’Zhaun Stribling | 7 | 122 | 17.4 | 0 | 40 |
| Cayden Lee | 4 | 19 | 4.8 | 0 | 12 |
| Dae’Quan Wright | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 0 | 10 |
| Deuce Alexander | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 7 |
Receiving Statistics – Georgia
| Player | Receptions | Yards | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zachariah Branch | 8 | 67 | 8.4 | 1 | 18 |
| Cash Jones | 2 | 45 | 22.5 | 0 | 26 |
| Nate Frazier | 3 | 42 | 14.0 | 0 | 24 |
| Colbie Young | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 0 | 31 |
| Lawson Luckie | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 | 16 |
Special Teams
| Player | Team | FG | Long | XP | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas Carneiro | Ole Miss | 3/3 | 56 | 2/2 | 11 |
| Peyton Woodring | Georgia | 2/3 | 37 | 4/4 | 10 |
Golding Now 2-0 as Head Coach
Pete Golding took over on December 1, 2025, one day after Kiffin accepted the LSU job. The former Alabama defensive coordinator had spent two seasons running Ole Miss’ defense before the sudden promotion.
Both of his wins as a head coach have come in the College Football Playoff. Ole Miss beat Duke 52-20 in the first round on December 20, 2025, then knocked off Georgia twelve days later. The victories came despite several assistants accepting positions at LSU with Kiffin while staying with the Rebels through the postseason.
October Rematch Context
Georgia beat Ole Miss 43-35 on October 18, 2025 in Athens. The Bulldogs trailed 35-26 entering the fourth quarter before scoring 17 unanswered points. Beck threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns in that game.
The Sugar Bowl meeting flipped that script. Ole Miss held a fourth-quarter lead and protected it when Georgia rallied.
Semifinals Await
Ole Miss (13-1) faces Miami in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal on January 8, 2026. The tenth-seeded Hurricanes have won back-to-back playoff games as underdogs.
Georgia (12-2) drops its second straight Sugar Bowl after losing to Notre Dame in last year’s quarterfinal. The Bulldogs earned a first-round bye both times, only to fall in New Orleans.
Carneiro’s kick sent Ole Miss to its first CFP semifinal. The program hasn’t played for a national championship since 1970. With Chambliss at quarterback and a defense that forced key stops, the Rebels keep proving doubters wrong.
