The Georgia Bulldogs just saw their season come to a disappointing end in an all-time thriller against Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl, sending the Rebels to the College Football Playoff semifinals. The 4th quarter was some of the most exciting football you'll ever see as the two teams combined for 28 points with Ole Miss kicking a last second field goal to walk it off.
Georgia was stellar in the first half, holding Ole Miss to just 13 points, but in the 4th quarter Ole Miss found a level we hadn't seen all game. When things were turning bad for the Georgia Bulldogs, their head coach decided to press, and it cost them badly.
Kirby Smart's forced gamble cost Georgia their season
In the 4th quarter, after Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy turned into the most electric duo you'll ever see to give Ole Miss a 3 point lead. Feeling the pressure of Ole Miss' offense catching fire, Kirby Smart made a shocking decision to leave his offense on the field on 4th and 2 on their own 32 yard line.
The play looked doomed from the start as the left side of the offensive line never moved allowing Gunner Stockton to get sacked by Suntarine Perkins. The play set Ole Miss up with a short field leading to a touchdown, giving the Rebels a 10-point lead.
Georgia was able to storm back and tie the game before Ole Miss kicked a last second field goal to win the game. The overwhelming feeling among the fanbase is that Kirby Smart's decision cost his team the game.
Georgia’s two losses are really going to come back to poor 4th down decisions by Kirby Smart
— ThreeTechPod 🎙 (@ThreeTechPod) January 2, 2026
They didn’t take the points against Bama and lost by 3
Tonight, an unwise gamble may have just put the Sugar Bowl out of reach
Terrible decision to go for it in your own territory by Kirby Smart.
— Tommy. (@DOPEISTOM) January 2, 2026
If you just started watching college football this playoff, you’d be hard to convince that Ryan Day and Kirby Smart are the only head coaches in it that have won a national championship.
— Taylor (@taylor_ashbrook) January 2, 2026
Kirby Smart is responsible for this loss
— elle (@elle_daniell) January 2, 2026
It's hard to fully fault Kirby Smart for the decision to go for it, given how hot Ole Miss' offense was at that point. The only stop the Bulldogs got in the 4th quarter came when the Bulldogs faced masked Kewan Lacy, which wasn't called by the officials. Even when Georgia stormed back and had all the momentum in the world, they couldn't stop Chambliss from beating them deep.
Kirby Smart will ultimately live with that decision the entire offseason, and whether he believes it was the right call or not, it went wrong, and he'll be blamed. Given how great Georgia's defense has played at times, not giving them a chance to get the stop with a full field was a crazy gamble to take that late in the game.