When it comes to rematches, Kirby Smart doesn’t just prepare-he dominates. The Georgia head coach holds a perfect 4-0 record in same-season rematches, and what’s even more impressive is that three of those wins came after losses in the first meeting. Now, with the Sugar Bowl on deck against Ole Miss, Smart has a shot to make it 5-0 and further cement his reputation as one of the best in-game adjusters in college football.
But this one might not be a layup.
Ole Miss analyst Steven Willis recently laid out a clear, no-frills game plan for how the Rebels can flip the script in New Orleans. His three keys? Stop the run, win the turnover battle, and let Trinidad Chamblas show why he belongs in the conversation for best quarterback in the SEC.
“This is the simplest game Ole Miss is going to play all season,” Willis said, and he wasn’t being flippant. The idea is straightforward: take away Georgia’s bread and butter-its punishing ground game-and force them into third-and-long situations.
That’s where opportunities open up. That’s where you give yourself a shot.
Defensive coordinator Pete Golding echoed the same sentiment during his Sugar Bowl media availability. “It all stems from stopping the running game,” he said.
And he’s right. Georgia’s offense thrives when it stays ahead of the chains.
Disrupt that rhythm, and you’re no longer playing on their terms.
Willis pointed to Arkansas’s defensive blueprint against Ole Miss earlier this season as a model for what Georgia will likely attempt. That means stacking the box, setting the edge, and forcing Chamblas to win with his arm under pressure. But if Ole Miss can flip the script and hold Georgia under 150 rushing yards, Willis believes it changes everything.
One area where Ole Miss will need to be especially sharp? Fourth downs.
Willis warned that going for it on fourth in your own territory is a trap Georgia loves to set. Smart has a knack for baiting aggressive play-callers into high-risk decisions, then making them pay.
It’s a chess match, and Smart’s usually three moves ahead.
And that’s what makes this such a tall task. Smart’s history in rematches isn’t just good-it’s dominant.
He’s beaten Auburn, Alabama (twice), and Texas (twice) in second meetings. His average margin of victory in those games?
A commanding 15 points. The 2021 national title run saw him avenge a loss to Alabama.
In 2024, he beat Texas again in the SEC Championship after already taking them down in the regular season. Most recently, Georgia dismantled Alabama 28-7 in the SEC title game-just weeks after falling to the Tide earlier in the year.
That kind of turnaround doesn’t happen by accident. It speaks to Smart’s ability to self-scout, adjust, and out-coach the guy across the sideline when it matters most.
But Ole Miss isn’t coming in empty-handed. They’re playing clean football at the right time.
In their last game against Tulane, the Rebels committed just one penalty-an intentional five-yarder. That kind of discipline will be critical if they’re going to hang with Georgia.
And while Smart just turned 50 and now stands as the SEC’s longest-tenured head coach following Kentucky’s decision to move on from Mark Stoops, he’s still operating at the peak of his powers. His 10-year, $130 million contract makes him the highest-paid coach in college football, and based on the results, it’s hard to argue he hasn’t earned it.
Willis’s keys-stop the run, win the turnover battle, let Chamblas cook-sound simple on paper. But pulling them off against a coach who’s never lost a rematch?
That’s a different kind of challenge. If Ole Miss wants to make history, they’ll have to do what no one else has done: beat Kirby Smart the second time around.