Ole Miss-Georgia Sugar Bowl thriller ends with delayed celebrations as officials demand last second be played
Ole Miss had to delay the celebration for their 39-34 Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia multiple times on Thursday night.
After kicking a go-ahead field goal with six seconds left, Ole Miss was awarded a safety on its final kickoff when Georgia’s return team tried a cross-field lateral that hit the pylon. Players and coaches began to rush the field in celebration, before having to return to the sideline as officials demanded Georgia kick off with one second remaining.
Georgia then recovered an onside kick, falling on the ball to preserve the final second. Ole Miss players and coaches again began to celebrate, believing the game had ended there.
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Ole Miss Head coach Pete Golding was even doused in a Gatorade bath. However, officials again demanded the final second be played, and stadium staff even began to push the winner's stage onto the field, before having to push it back to clear space for the final play.
Georgia ran one more play in which they executed numerous laterals before the play fizzled after dozens of seconds, before Ole Miss could finally celebrate their CFP victory.
The win sent Ole Miss (13-1, CFP No. 6 seed) on to a semifinal against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl next Thursday.
Kicking off on the heels of two lopsided CFP quarterfinals at the Orange and Rose bowls, the Sugar Bowl provided drama until the end.
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After seeing a 21-12 halftime lead turn into a 34-24 deficit with 9:02 to play, Georgia (12-2, CFP No. 3 seed) rallied to tie it, first driving for Gunner Stockton’s 18-yard TD pass to Zachariah Branch before Peyton Woodring’s short field goal tied it with 55 seconds left in regulation.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss responded by setting up the winning kick with a 40-yard pass to De’Zhaun Stribling on third down from Mississippi’s own 30-yard line. A few plays later, kicker Lucas Carneiro, who’d already broken Sugar Bowl records with field goals of 55 and 56 yards, hit from 47 and sprinted triumphantly toward the Ole Miss sideline as the Rebels jubilantly swarmed around him.
Harrison Wallace III caught nine passed for 156 yards and one TD, Stribling finished with seven catches for 122 yards, Kewan Lacy rushed for 98 yards and two TDs, and the Rebels outgained the Bulldogs 473 yards to 343.
Stockton passed for 203 yards and one touchdown, and also ran for two scores.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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