Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss Advance to CFP Semifinals After Sugar Bowl Thriller

The Rebels are headed to their first CFP semifinal.

Ole Miss beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl thanks to a game-winning field goal. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The 2025 Sugar Bowl had college football fans on the edge of their seats up until the last second.

Ole Miss beat Georgia 39–34 on Thursday night at Caesars Superdome thanks to a 47-yard field goal by Lucas Carneiro that broke a tie with six seconds remaining (which was followed up with a safety on the ensuing kickoff).

After a month of chaos with coach Lane Kiffin leaving the program, the Rebels are now headed to their first College Football Playoff semifinal, and they upset the No. 3 Bulldogs in the process.

It wasn’t a walk in the park win for Ole Miss by any means. After trailing 21–12 heading into the half, the Rebels charged ahead in the fourth quarter with a rally led by quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who threw two touchdown passes on back-to-back drives. Ole Miss went up 34–24 with nine minutes left.

OLE MISS MAKES THE KICK WITH SIX SECONDS REMAINING 😱 pic.twitter.com/fJC66nZ8Al

— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2026

Georgia followed up with another touchdown to cut the deficit to three points. After Ole Miss didn’t score on their next drive, the Bulldogs got the ball back with the game essentially on the line. Despite having three chances to score a touchdown near the goal line, Georgia settled for a field goal to tie the game with 55 seconds left.

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Chambliss threw a monster pass to De’Zhaun Stribling for a 40-yard gain with 20 seconds left. This eventually set Ole Miss up for the game-winning field goal. Chambliss finished the game with 320 passing yards and two touchdowns.

Ole Miss will face No. 10 Miami in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 for a chance to book a trip to the national title game on Jan. 19.

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