Ole Miss Defense Locked In for Sugar Bowl Rematch with Georgia: “We All Wanted to Play This Game Again”
If there’s one stat that’s still sticking with the Ole Miss defense heading into their College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup against Georgia, it’s this: zero punts. That’s how many times the Bulldogs kicked the ball away in their first meeting with the Rebels - a 43-35 Georgia win back in October.
For a defense that prides itself on grit, hustle, and getting off the field, that number still stings.
“Not allowing them to punt, not one time,” linebacker TJ Dottery said. “That was the first time ever in my life being in a game like that. Gotta be completely better.”
Now, with a Sugar Bowl showdown set for January 1 in New Orleans, Ole Miss gets another shot. And this time, they’re determined to rewrite the script.
What Went Wrong in Athens
Let’s rewind to that October 18 clash in Athens. Ole Miss actually held a 35-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter. But then Georgia flipped the switch - rattling off 17 unanswered points to close the game and punch the Rebels with their only loss of the season.
The Rebels’ defense gave up 510 total yards. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton had his way through the air, throwing for 289 yards and four touchdowns - three of them to tight end Lawson Luckie, who was a matchup nightmare all night.
Ole Miss came into that game allowing just 19.3 points and 339.9 yards per game. But against Georgia? Those numbers ballooned, and the Bulldogs never once had to give the ball away.
“Moment get big, big stadium, big crowd,” defensive lineman Will Echoles said. “We just all gotta be on the same page.”
A Different Mentality This Time
Since that loss, the Rebels have been on a mission to clean up the mistakes - and it’s not just lip service. Co-defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said the work started immediately after the game.
“One thing was leverage - just having the correct leverage, whether it’s blocks or angles on tackles,” Brown said. “We’ve tried to correct that throughout the year.
Working on it right now tirelessly. Some of it is want-to as well.”
That “want-to” has been a theme throughout the Rebels’ locker room. Safety Wydett Williams said the Georgia game served as a wake-up call for the entire defense.
“After that game we had to lock in more as a defense,” Williams said. “We had to bond more as a team, whatever we had to do to play better on the defensive side of the ball - communicating, tackling, getting turnovers. So anything to help us as a defense that we didn’t do in that game.”
Williams added what’s now become a rallying cry: “We all wanted to play this game again. We’re happy that we get to play them.”
Cleaning Up the Details
The Rebels know they did some things well in that first game - but they also know they let too many chances slip through their fingers.
“Very frustrating not being able to capitalize on third and longs, fourth and shorts, trying to get off the field,” Dottery said. “I feel like in a lot of those situations a guy was misaligned or misassigned vs them just one-on-one making a play.”
That’s the kind of self-awareness that championship-caliber teams need. And Ole Miss has been trending in the right direction since that loss - especially with Pete Golding now stepping into the head coaching role after Lane Kiffin departed for LSU following the Egg Bowl.
Golding made his debut on the sideline during the Rebels’ 41-10 win over Tulane in the first round of the playoff. And players are already feeling the difference.
“It’s awesome,” Dottery said. “I actually like it when he’s on the sideline.
So when he wants to tell us something, you can see him face to face. He’ll be able to actually draw it on the board vs hearing him through a headset since he’s all the way up in a box.”
The Rematch Is Set
Ole Miss (12-1) and Georgia (12-1) are two teams that know each other well by now. The Rebels are carrying the lessons of that first meeting into New Orleans, where everything’s on the line in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
This time, they’re not just hoping to slow Georgia down - they’re preparing to force punts, get off the field, and make the kind of defensive statement that was missing in Athens.
They’ve circled this game. They’ve studied the tape. And now, they’re ready for Round 2.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.