OXFORD, Miss (AP) — The Mississippi Rebels head into a second successive rematch in the College Football Playoff — this time facing the only team to beat them this season.
Ole Miss (12-1) defeated Tulane 41-10 Saturday in the opening round, nearly matching a 45-10 regular season home triumph over the Green Wave in the fourth week of the regular season.
Next up for the sixth-seeded Rebels is a clash with third-seeded Georgia (12-1), the Southeastern
Conference champs, in the quarterfinal round at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1.
The Bulldogs defeated visiting Ole Miss in a 43-35 shootout on Oct. 18, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
“We’re looking forward to playing them again,” said wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, who had his team-high sixth touchdown catch of the season against Tulane. “Georgia is impressive. But there were things in that game that we could have done better.”
Unlike the first meeting, the Rebels have been through extensive changes, topped by Pete Golding replacing Lane Kiffin as coach two days after the final game of the regular season.
Kiffin departed for LSU on Nov. 30, opening the door for Golding, who had served three years as the Rebels' defensive coordinator.
Ole Miss made a seamless transition in Golding’s head coaching debut in the lopsided home win over Tulane. The Rebels will be hoping for a carryover effect in the Sugar Bowl, a neutral site with historical ties for both programs.
“I know how much it means to be playing in New Orleans,” said Golding, who grew up not far from the Big Easy in Hammond, Louisiana. “We will enjoy this one tonight and tomorrow we start preparing for Georgia.”
While the Bulldogs began the season as a favorite for a CFP berth, Ole Miss' emergence was less predictable.
Early uncertainty regarding the Rebels' prospects stemmed from the fact they had to replace 20 starters — and then move former Division II quarterback Trinidad Chambliss to the starting role after an early season injury to opening week starter Austin Simmons.
“We never doubted that we were a playoff team when the summer practice started,” Chambliss said. “There were doubters that thought we would be a mid-tier SEC team, maybe. We knew we were a playoff team.”
Georgia and Ole Miss now join Alabama and LSU as the only teams to appear in the Sugar Bowl at least 10 times. But this Sugar Bowl will be the first in 60 years featuring two SEC squads.
That 1964 game also featured Ole Miss. Their opponent was Alabama, with a 12-7 win in the old Tulane Stadium during snowy weather — which doesn't happen in New Orleans that often.
Postseason history aside, the Ole Miss players and coaches were quick to dismiss words and phrases such as revenge or payback in the postgame news conference. Instead, the theme focused on opportunity and respect.
In the regular season contest, both offenses combined for 10 touchdowns and more than 850 yards of total offense. The Rebels scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions while Georgia never faced a punting situation — a fact not lost on Ole Miss defenders such as defensive tackle Will Echoles.
“We’ve talked about that, and we talked about it again tonight after the game. I mean, we’ve got to do everything better,” Echoles said. “That was a bad game for our defense — a really bad game. Period. We know we will have to play our best game.”
TJ Dottery, the leading tackler for the Rebels, added: “Physicality. That’s what Georgia brings. But that’s what I look forward to, is the physicality of the game.”
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