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ESPN News Services
Jan 1, 2026, 11:56 PM ET
NEW ORLEANS -- Lucas Carneiro kicked a 47-yard field goal in the closing seconds, and the Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 39-34 in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night, securing a berth in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Ole Miss, which concluded the scoring with a late safety on a kickoff, advances to play the 12-2 Miami Hurricanes in a CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8. Miami, the No. 10 seed in the playoff, secured its final four berth with a win over No. 2 seed Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve, and has won two games in the CFP this season. Shortly after the Rebels' win, DraftKings opened Miami as 2.5-point favorite over Ole Miss.
Miami has won six games in a row since a 26-20 setback at SMU on Nov. 1, which was its second loss in three games after a 5-0 start propelled it to a No. 2 AP ranking that was its highest since 2017.
"It was a low point. And we quickly, we got together because we have really good people, and we work really, really, really hard. And we weren't achieving the results that we set out to have, and that's difficult. That's a punch in the gut," Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said. "Y'all saw the 5% chance we had to make the CFP. (Players) saw it."
Their reward is a date with the only remaining SEC team in Glendale, Arizona, a Rebels team that is getting used to overcoming adversity. Having proved they could win as a favorite without ex-coach Lane Kiffin in the first round, the No. 6 Rebels won a rollercoaster game against a favored conference foe in New Orleans.
"It was a back-and-forth game, it was an incredible college football game," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in his postgame media availability. "It was basically what the College Football Playoff is for. ... I give credit to Ole Miss. They made more plays than we did."
Georgia ended its season at 12-2, and became the third team with a first-round bye to lose its first CFP game this season. Only Indiana, the No. 1 seed, advanced to the semifinals after securing a bye.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, improved to 13-1, and avenged a loss to the Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia, on Oct. 18. The Rebels, who are in the 12-team CFP for the first time, went 11-1 during the regular season before Kiffin left for LSU on Nov. 30.
Kiffin was replaced by Pete Golding, a feisty defensive coordinator who made his head-coaching debut in a 41-10 rout of Tulane in the CFP's first round last month. He's now 2-0.
"I'm just so excited for our players, the adversity that they've been through," Golding said in his postgame, on-field interview with ESPN's Molly McGrath. "Just really excited and proud for them."
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss won the bowl's offensive MVP award, after completing 30 of 46 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns.
"I just have to give all of Ole Miss a 'thanks' for letting me come here to play ball," Chambliss said on the Sugar Bowl podium after accepting the award.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
