The 2026 Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2026, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The 92nd annual Sugar Bowl was one of the College Football Playoff (CFP) quarterfinals. The game began at approximately 8:00p.m. EST and was broadcast on ESPN. It was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season, with the winner advancing to the CFP semifinals. Sponsored by the Allstate insurance company, the game was officially known as the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

In a rematch of a Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular-season game, the Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Georgia Bulldogs, 39–34.

Background The 2026 Sugar Bowl was a quarterfinal game for the College Football Playoff (CFP). Georgia was ranked third in the CFP rankings and, being one of the top four teams, received a first-round bye. The 11th seed, Tulane, and 6th seed, Ole Miss, competed for the other spot in the Sugar Bowl, with Ole Miss winning by a 41–10 score.

Teams Georgia and Ole Miss met during a Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular-season game, which Georgia won, 43–35. This was the first Sugar Bowl with two SEC teams since the 1964 edition, which also featured Ole Miss.

Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia began the season as the No. 5 ranked team in the AP Poll. The Bulldogs began the season with two wins over nonconference opponents Marshall and Austin Peay before earning their first SEC win of the season on the road against Tennessee. They returned home to face Alabama, losing 24–21, their first loss at home since 2019. The Bulldogs rebounded by soundly defeating Kentucky the following week and then knocking off rival Auburn on the road. They then outlasted Ole Miss 43–35, jumping to No. 5 in the AP Poll entering a bye week. Following the bye week, Georgia defeated rival Florida in Jacksonville and Mississippi State in Starkville. The Bulldogs then returned home for a two-game home stretch, including a 35–10 victory over Texas and a 35–3 win over Charlotte. In the final game of the regular season, Georgia defeated rival Georgia Tech, 16–9, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In the 2025 SEC Championship Game, the Bulldogs avenged their lone loss to Alabama, defeating the Crimson Tide, 28–7, to become SEC champions and clinch an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff as one of the top five highest-ranked conference champions.

This was the 13th Sugar Bowl appearance for the Bulldogs, with a record of 5–7 in prior editions. The program's latest appearance in the Sugar Bowl was the 2025 game, losing to Notre Dame, 23–10. Georgia entered the game as the SEC champions, with a 12–1 record (7–1 in conference).

Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss began the season as the No. 21 ranked team in the AP Poll. The Rebels began the season with a 63–7 rout of Georgia State before earning their first SEC victory of the season on the road against Kentucky. After starting quarterback Austin Simmons was injured against Kentucky, Ferris State transfer Trinidad Chambliss was named the Rebels' starter moving forward. After outlasting Arkansas and soundly handling Tulane, Ole Miss faced undefeated LSU in the Magnolia Bowl. The Rebels prevailed 24–19 over the Tigers and vaulted to No. 4 in the AP Poll. Following a bye week, Ole Miss defeated Washington State before heading to Athens to face Georgia, where the Rebels were outlasted 43–35. Following their first defeat of the season, Ole Miss rebounded with a 34–26 road victory at Oklahoma. The Rebels then returned home for a three-game homestand that included victories over South Carolina, The Citadel, and Florida. Following their second bye week, Ole Miss faced off against rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, with the Rebels winning 38–19. Two days following the Rebels' Egg Bowl victory, head coach Lane Kiffin announced his departure from the program to become the next head coach at LSU. After Kiffin's departure, the team announced that defensive coordinator Pete Golding would take over as the head coach for the College Football Playoffs. As the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, the Rebels rematched with Tulane, defeating the Green Wave, 41–10, to move on to the quarterfinals.

This was the 11th Sugar Bowl appearance for the Rebels, with a record of 6–4 in prior editions. The program's latest appearance in the Sugar Bowl was the 2022 game, losing to Baylor, 21–7. Ole Miss entered the game with a 12–1 record (7–1 in conference).

Game summary

Each team's opening drive ended with a punt, and Ole Miss scored first with Lucas Carneiro field goals of 55 and 56 yards, respectively, on their following two drives. After a second Georgia punt, the Bulldogs scored on a 12-yard Gunner Stockton touchdown rush early in the second quarter. Ole Miss retook the lead with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Trinidad Chambliss to Luke Hasz on the eighth play of their ensuing drive, and Georgia responded with a 12-play scoring drive over the following six and a half minutes which ended with another Stockton touchdown rush. The Georgia lead grew to nine points on Ole Miss's next drive as the result of a Kewan Lacy fumble, which was returned by Daylen Everette for a touchdown with 2:34 remaining in the half. No scoring took place on the final three possessions of the half, and Georgia entered halftime leading 21–12.

A Georgia punt and an Ole Miss turnover on downs began the third quarter, after which Georgia drove to the Rebels' 37-yard line but failed to score after Peyton Woodring's 55-yard field goal attempt was missed. The next three possessions all resulted in scoring: Georgia added a 37-yard Woodring field goal and Lacy rushed for touchdowns of 7 and 6 yards for Ole Miss. The Rebels opted to attempt a two-point conversion after the second Lacy score, which they converted on a pass from Chambliss to Harrison Wallace III, giving them a 27–24 lead. Following a Georgia turnover on downs at their own 23-yard line, Ole Miss scored in one play on a pass from Chambliss to Dae'Quan Wright to further extend their lead to ten points. Georgia scored on a pass from Stockton to Zachariah Branch two minutes later and forced an Ole Miss three-and-out to retake possession with 5:26 left in the game. They drove to the Ole Miss 6-yard line and tied the game at 34 on a 24-yard Woodring field goal. Ole Miss's final possession finished with a 47-yard Carneiro field goal, giving Ole Miss a three-point lead with six seconds left. On the ensuing kickoff return, a Georgia lateral hit the pylon, resulting in a safety and giving Ole Miss a 39–34 victory.

Statistics

+Team statistical comparisonStatisticOle MissGeorgiaFirst downs 22 23First downs rushing 7 8First downs passing 13 11First downs penalty 2 4Third down efficiency 5–14 3–13Fourth down efficiency 1–2 2–3Total plays–net yards 73–473 70–343Rushing attempts–net yards 27–111 37–124Yards per rush 4.1 3.4Yards passing 362 219Pass completions–attempts 30–46 19–33Interceptions thrown 0 0Punt returns–total yards 0–0 2–23Kickoff returns–total yards 0–0 1–65Punts–average yardage 3–48.0 4–48.5Fumbles–lost 1–1 1–1Penalties–yards 4–48 4–38Time of possession 27:28 32:32

+Ole Miss statisticsRebels passing Trinidad Chambliss 30–46 362 2–0Rebels rushing Kewan Lacy 22 98 2 Trinidad Chambliss 4 14 0 Deuce Alexander 1 −1 0Rebels receiving Harrison Wallace III 9 156 1 De'Zhaun Stribling 7 122 0 Cayden Lee 4 19 0 Dae'Quan Wright 2 18 0 Deuce Alexander 2 13 0 Kewan Lacy 2 12 0 Logan Diggs 1 8 0 Winston Watkins Jr. 1 7 0 Caleb Odom 1 4 0 Luke Hasz 1 3 1

+Georgia statisticsBulldogs passing Gunner Stockton 18–31 203 1–0 Landon Roldan 1–1 16 0–0 Dillon Bell 0–1 0 0–0Bulldogs rushing Nate Frazier 15 86 0 Gunner Stockton 13 20 2 Cash Jones 2 11 0 Chauncey Bowens 5 10 0 Josh McCray 2 −3 0Bulldogs receiving Zachariah Branch 8 67 1 Cash Jones 2 45 0 Nate Frazier 3 42 0 Colbie Young 3 22 0 Lawson Luckie 1 20 0 Sacovie White-Helton 1 20 0 Oscar Delp 1 16 0

See also List of college football post-season games that were rematches of regular season games

References

External links Game statistics at statbroadcast.com