ESPN College GameDay crew had 'no faith' Ole Miss could beat Georgia in Sugar Bowl

The consensus was clear before kickoff. The ESPN College GameDay crew overwhelmingly sided with Georgia to handle business against Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs’ postseason experience, defensive strength and a regular season win in Athens weighed on many minds. 

That confidence did not survive Thursday night in New Orleans.

Ole Miss stunned third-ranked Georgia 39-34 in a chaotic College Football Playoff quarterfinal that featured 30 combined fourth quarter points, multiple lead changes and one of the most unusual endings in bowl history. A safety on the final kickoff was the result of a desperate Georgia lateral that struck the pylon and sealed the Rebels’ victory. It sent them to the Fiesta Bowl for a semifinal matchup against Miami.

No love for Ole Miss #SugarBowl #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/eJcNIRwSIF

The Rebels, now 13-1 and the CFP’s No. 6 seed, looked nothing like the underdog most of the pregame panel envisioned. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss carved up the Bulldogs for 362 yards and two touchdowns, repeatedly answering Georgia rallies with poise and precision. His 40-yard strike to De’Zhaun Stribling on third down late in the fourth quarter set up Lucas Carneiro’s decisive 47-yard field goal with six seconds remaining.

Carneiro was flawless all night, drilling three field goals, including Sugar Bowl-record kicks of 55 and 56 yards as Ole Miss totaled 473 yards of offense. Georgia finished with 355 yards but couldn’t come up with the final stop when it mattered.

Georgia had erased a 10-point deficit in the final minutes, tying the game on Peyton Woodring’s field goal with 55 seconds left. That rally only heightened the drama before Ole Miss delivered the final blow.

It was the kind of result that shows why the games are played on the field. And why even unanimous picks from a national pregame desk can unravel in the chaos of the Playoff.

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