Ole Miss Rebels vs. Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia vs. Ole Miss is the kind of playoff game that exposes what’s real and what’s résumé—and it comes with a twist you almost never see at this stage: Ole Miss is making a College Football Playoff run without Lane Kiffin, who bolted for LSU earlier this month. That’s not just a headline; it changes the emotional temperature of the Rebels. Defensive boss Pete Golding is now the head coach, and the message has been simple: don’t reinvent anything—just sharpen it. Meanwhile, Georgia’s Kirby Smart has the Bulldogs in a familiar spot: talented, tested, and fully expecting to be the team that “handles business” when the lights get bright.
The market is leaning Georgia for a reason. The Bulldogs have the deeper roster, the more battle-hardened SEC profile, and they already beat Ole Miss earlier this season in Athens. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton doesn’t need to be spectacular if the run game and defense travel, and Smart’s teams are built to suffocate opponents when the game gets tight in the fourth quarter.
But Ole Miss isn’t some cute story. Trinidad Chambliss gives the Rebels a real playoff identity—mobile, poised, and aggressive—plus they’ve got a backfield that can shorten the game and a defense that understands pressure, angles, and disruption because Golding’s fingerprints are all over it. The Rebels also have a legitimate “prove it” edge: they’ve heard the talk all month—about Kiffin leaving, about Georgia’s depth, about Ole Miss being a step down from the true heavyweights.
Rewatch that first meeting and you’ll see why the contrarian side has teeth: Ole Miss can absolutely play out in front when they dictate tempo, win early downs, and force Georgia into longer drives than it wants. I expect the Rebels to attack this game like it’s a one-night referendum on their program—fast start, calculated aggression, and no fear.
Most picks will land on the Bulldogs. I get it. But I’m taking the team that I think controls the script for most of the night and survives the late push.
Pick: Ole Miss 31, Georgia 26.
