Georgia's opponent in the Sugar Bowl is set, and it's no surprise that the Bulldogs will meet No. 6 Ole Miss for the second time this season. The Rebels advanced to the CFP quarterfinals with a 41-10 win over Tulane.
The second Georgia-Ole Miss clash will take place at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 1. FanDuel has Georgia as a 6.5-point favorite to open.
THE SUGAR BOWL IS SET 🙌
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 21, 2025
Who ya got in this one, @OleMissFB or @GeorgiaFootball? pic.twitter.com/XEa2VVhIPv
Truthfully speaking, the line feels a little low. Georgia beat Ole Miss by eight, the first time the teams have played, and since then the Bulldogs have been on a rampage and look like the best team in the country. Meanwhile, the Rebels were fine without Lane Kiffin against an over matched squad like Tulane, but with one week to prepare for the Bulldogs, we'll see if they can keep it up.
The first meeting was a fun shootout
The first time the Bulldogs and the Rebels locked up it was a wild shootout between the hedges. Ole Miss came out hot and scored touchdowns on its first five possessions to take a 35-26 lead. But Georgia flipped the script in the fourth quarter and ran off 17 unanswered points to win 43-35.
It was another major step in the growth of Gunner Stockton. who threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns. Stockton stumbled a bit in a late-September loss to Alabama, but against Ole Miss he was near perfect and he's used that performance to have a strong second half of the season.
Tight end Lawson Luckie caught three touchdowns passes with his younger brother, Cannon, providing the inspiration.
Thrilling day for @lawson_luckie 3 TDs and a special moment with his family at the end of it all. @DawgNation #UGA pic.twitter.com/baH1iDmQhh
— Cody Chaffins (@CodyChaffins) October 19, 2025
Georgia has tightened up on D since then
Head coach Kirby Smart and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann have been tinkering with the defense all season and over the past month they seem to have gotten it right. The pass rush is as good as it's been all season and the run defense is even tighter than it was in mid-October when the Bulldogs held the Rebels to 88 yards.
Another area where Georgia is much improved is third-down defense. In the first game, Ole Miss was 5-of-9 on third downs, but since then the Bulldogs have gotten off the field. In the past four games, teams that have faced the Bulldogs are 10-of-48 on third down, about 21 percent.