Georgia Bulldogs' Kirby Smart Uses One Word to Describe Rematch Against Ole Miss

No. 6 Ole Miss (12-1, 7-1 SEC) will hit the road to the Bayou State for a New Year's Day matchup against Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

In what will serve as this year's Sugar Bowl, the Rebels and Bulldogs will square off once again this season with Ole Miss looking to avenge a loss in October.

But this time around it'll be Pete Golding leading the charge for the Rebels after Lane Kiffin departed for the LSU Tigers gig on Nov. 30 - where Golding was quickly elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach.

Smart and the Bulldogs believe it'll be the same Ole Miss team the program faced before with a firepower offense with Trinidad Chambliss under center.

“The offensive coordinator and the staff is all still there,” Smart said. “They’re not gonna make overhaul or make large changes, right? They got something that really works well. Really high powered, explosive, great wide outs. Really good tight end and one of the best backs in the country.”

“Arguably the quarterback that may be playing the best in the country in terms of his ability to make throws in all areas,” Smart added. “The guy’s elite. He (was) elite the last time we played them. He’s just as elite or more elite now because he’s gotten more experience and more confidence.

"So they’re playing at a really high level, offensively and, I mean, Lane has something to do with that because he helped build it and get them there, but Charlie (Weis, Jr.’s) done a tremendous job calling the plays and doing those things.”

But Smart had one word to describe the impact a "rematch" has on the game. Yes, it's "hard to beat a team" in one season, but Georgia's shot-caller believes the narrative is overratted.

“I think as we talked about with Alabama, it’s really overrated in terms of rematches and things like that,” Smart said on Monday during a Zoom press conference with media.

“I think it’s how you play defines what the outcome of the game is. Your ability to be explosive. Not turn the ball over, win the situational football, middle eight.

Ole Miss Football. — Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

“There’s all kinds of things I think to figure out and it really has very little to do with the time before you played them. Everybody’s going to watch the time before you played them, because you got to go look at the matchups.

"But I don’t think either team is the same. Both teams have to evolve some and everybody will have their wrinkles.”

Ole Miss and Georgia will kickoff at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN with the pair of SEC programs set to take the field at Caesars SuperDome.

More Ole Miss News:

Lane Kiffin Reacts to New Offensive Coordinator Being Hired By Ole Miss Football

Ole Miss Football QB Trinidad Chambliss Wins Major Award Amid Breakout Season

ESPN Predicts Outcome of Ole Miss Football vs. Tulane Green Wave in CFP Showdown

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