Redemption will be on the minds of Mississippi Rebels defensive players when they meet third-ranked Georgia at Thursday’s Sugar Bowl in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.
鈥淲e all wanted to play them again,鈥� said Ole Miss defensive back Wydett Williams Jr., whose unit labored through a season-worst performance during earlier this season. 鈥淲e鈥檙e happy we get to play them.鈥�
Georgia (12-1), the Southeastern Conference champions and third seed in the CFP bracket, and No. 6 Ole Miss (12-1), the CFP’s sixth seed, traveled on Monday to New Orleans, where they will make final preparations for their New Year’s Day matchup in the Superdome.
In handing the Rebels their only loss this season, Georgia gained 510 yards of offense and didn’t punt once, but did need a 17-0, fourth-quarter rally to win.
Ole Miss defensive coordinator Bryan Brown says Georgia’s offense looks even better now than when they met on Oct. 18.
鈥淔irst, they take care of the football,鈥� said Brown, who assumed the coordinator role exclusively after his former co-coordinator, on Nov. 30, when ex-coach .
鈥淭hey execute at a higher level and they鈥檝e got their play makers making plays,鈥� Brown added.
Meanwhile, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said that in his experience, rematches often don’t resemble the earlier matchup.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really overrated in terms of re-matches and things like that,鈥� Smart said. “How you play (on a given day) defines what the outcome of the game is 鈥� your ability to be explosive, turn the ball over, win situational football … and it really has very little to do with the time before you played them.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think either team is exactly the same,鈥� Smart added. 鈥淏oth teams have evolved some. And everybody will have new wrinkles.鈥�
Quarterback Gunnar Stockton threw for 289 yards on 26-of-31 passing against the Rebels, including three touchdown passes to tight end Lawson Luckie.
If Stockton’s more than 3,100 yards and 23 touchdowns passing weren’t impressive enough, Brown asserted that Stockton鈥檚 value goes beyond the numbers.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a gamer,鈥� Brown said, smiling in admiration. 鈥淗e extends plays and he makes the right plays. It鈥檚 not all measurements for a quarterback; it鈥檚 about making the right plays. That鈥檚 what he does. That鈥檚 what he is. He鈥檚 a football player.鈥�
Williams saw the Georgia loss as a turning point for the Rebels’ defense, which closed with five consecutive wins to secure a CFP berth.
鈥淎fter that game, we had to lock in more,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淲e had to bond more as a team, whatever we had to do to play better on the defensive side 鈥� anything we needed to do, we pressed on harder.鈥�
Ole Miss then opened the CFP with a resounding 45-10 triumph over No. 17 Tulane (the CFP’s 11th seed) to set up its rematch with the Bulldogs.
During its past six contests, the Rebel defense has improved in areas such as quarterback pressures and turnover ratio (plus-4 during that span).
鈥淲e got better at communication, playing faster and with more confidence,鈥� Brown said.
But there was no getting away from the painful memories inflicted by the Georgia offense in October, particularly one embarrassing statistic.
Rebels linebacker TJ Dottery shook his head as he described the humiliation of his unit not forcing a single punt during the Rebels’ visit to Athens.
鈥淕eorgia is a great team,鈥� Dottery said. “But this time, we鈥檝e got to be better.鈥�
Cornerback Jaylon Braxton, whose interception stopped an early Tulane drive, figures there will be little margin for error against a Georgia program that has won three SEC titles and two national championships since 2021.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 execute,” Braxton said while recounting the previous meeting. “We have really focused in practice on doing the things that the coaches call.鈥�
For Brown, a key step will be eliminating the type of missed assignments that cost the Rebels in the last meeting.
鈥淕ot to get off the field when we have that opportunity and avoid the busted assignment,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淗opefully, we won鈥檛 have anybody running loose in the secondary.鈥�
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AP Sports Writers Charles Odom in Atlanta and Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed.
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