Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin trying to pull off something only one team has done to Kirby Smart and Georgia for a very long time
Lane Kiffin could begin a winning streak of Georgia, something only Alabama can boast since 2021
Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels weren’t supposed to be this good in 2025. The Rebels sent more players off to the NFL Draft than the program had since 1971. They lost 20 of 22 starters from the 2024 team. Their starting quarterback got injured early on. None of that has mattered.
Ole Miss is 6-0 with one of the best offenses and defenses in the country. Now they have an opportunity to do something only one other team (Alabama) has done to Kirby Smart in the last five years: beat Georgia for a second time in the regular season.
Ole Miss and Georgia stats ahead of SEC matchup
- Georgia is the winningest team in college football since 2021.
- Ole Miss is the only other team besides Alabama to beat Georgia in the regular season in the last five seasons.
- Ole Miss ranks number one among all FBS teams in offensive plays of 30+ yards this season.
- Georgia ranks 112th among FBS teams in defensive sacks this year.
Ole Miss trying to do something only Alabama has done to Georgia
It’s already true that only Ole Miss and Alabama have beaten a Kirby Smart Georgia team in the regular season at any point throughout the last five seasons. The Crimson Tide have done it multiple times. No other program has even done it once besides Ole Miss, and Lane Kiffin made sure to remind everyone of that this week when he met with media:
“[Georgia] has the winningest record in football [since COVID]. Especially dominance in the regulars season. In the last five years they’ve only lost in regular season to Alabama and then our game here last year. It’s a very challenging team to always play, especially there. So, we’re going to have to have a great week of preparation. Prepare to go on the road in a very tough environment with elite players and a phenomenal coaching staff led by Kirby Smart.”
Beating Georgia and Kirby Smart has been a near impossibility in the regular season, but Ole Miss pulled it off last season. They weren’t “supposed to” be able to this season, but it turns out they might just have the perfect formula.
How?
Georgia’s pass rush has been inexplicably awful this season, ranking 112 among FBS teams in sacks–just one sack coming from a true defensive end or tackle all season long. Consequently the Bulldogs are giving up far more explosive plays than usual (17 of 20+ yards) and struggling to stop the pass against most anyone. Thanks to the emergence of Trinidad Chambliss as a intermediate-deep game passer with mobility to stress a defense horizontally the Rebels actually might pull this off.
Ole Miss currently ranks first among all FBS teams in explosive plays of 30+ yards. Chambliss is one of the best QBs in the nation at avoiding pressure (where Georgia already struggles). This is actually a perfect matchup fit for the Rebels.
Trinidad Chambliss may have come back down to Earth a bit against Washington State last week, but he’s still averaging over 300 yards passing and 60+ yards rushing per game in his four starts for Ole Miss. If he can keep Georgia’s uncharacteristically awful defensive front guessing and avoid letting the Bulldogs’ star linebacker CJ Allen make plays then the Rebels and head coach Lane Kiffin seriously could start a winning streak against Kirby Smart this week.
We’ll be back with more Ole Miss Rebels coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
