# 2026 Sugar Bowl
The 2026 [Sugar Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/sugar-bowl) was the 92nd edition of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic, a [College Football Playoff](https://www.edgepedia.org/college-football-playoff) quarterfinal played on January 1, 2026 at the [Caesars Superdome](https://www.edgepedia.org/caesars-superdome) in New Orleans, in which the sixth-seeded Ole Miss Rebels defeated the third-seeded Georgia Bulldogs 39-34 on a 47-yard field goal with six seconds left.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx) The game was an all-Southeastern Conference rematch: Ole Miss had lost to Georgia 43-35 during the 2025 regular season.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Edition and date | 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl, January 1, 2026, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx) |
| Stakes | College Football Playoff quarterfinal, No. 6 seed Ole Miss vs. No. 3 seed Georgia[2](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/1/2/QF-Sugar-recap) |
| Final score | Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34; Ole Miss outgained Georgia 473 yards to 343[2](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/1/2/QF-Sugar-recap) |
| Attendance and TV | Sellout crowd of 68,371; 18,700,000 ESPN viewers[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx) |
| Winning play | Lucas Carneiro's 47-yard field goal with six seconds left, his third of the game[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx) |
| MVPs | Trinidad Chambliss (offense) and Will Echoles (defense), Miller-Digby Most Outstanding Players[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx) |
| Aftermath | Ole Miss (13-1) advanced to the CFP semifinal against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl[2](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/1/2/QF-Sugar-recap) |
## Team and season context
Ole Miss entered as the [No. 6](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-6) seed after a 12-1 regular season, the first team in program history to reach 12 wins, and beat 11-seed Tulane 41-10 in the playoff first round.[3](https://olemisssports.com/documents/download/2025/12/31/25OM_FBNotes_14Georgia_CFP_Rd2_SugarBowl.pdf) The Rebels reached the quarterfinal under Pete Golding, who had been the defensive coordinator in 2025 and was named head coach after [Lane Kiffin](https://www.edgepedia.org/lane-kiffin) left at the end of the season for the LSU job; the Sugar Bowl was his second victory as head coach.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx)
Georgia, the SEC champion at 12-1 entering the game, was appearing in the Sugar Bowl for the second straight season. The year before, the Bulldogs had lost to Notre Dame 23-10 in the [2025 Sugar Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/2025-sugar-bowl), a game postponed about 36 hours by a [New Year's Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-years-day) truck attack in the [French Quarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-quarter), the first postponement in the bowl's then 91-year history.[4](https://apnews.com/article/d6142ce05560f597c65dd99846e8ac4e)
## Game summary
**First half.** Ole Miss took a 6-0 lead on two Sugar Bowl-record field goals by Lucas Carneiro, a 55-yarder with 5:47 left in the first quarter and a 56-yarder with 2:13 left, the two longest kicks in the game's history.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx) Georgia answered with a 75-yard drive capped by [Gunner Stockton](https://www.edgepedia.org/gunner-stockton)'s 12-yard run, then took a 21-12 halftime lead after Stockton's 1-yard touchdown run and a 47-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Daylen Everette, a Sugar Bowl record for a fumble return.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx)
**Second half.** The Rebels cut the lead to 21-19 on [Kewan Lacy](https://www.edgepedia.org/kewan-lacy)'s 7-yard run, then took the lead in the fourth quarter. After a fourth-down stop of Georgia at its own 34, Suntarine Perkins sacked Stockton and forced a fumble that Ole Miss recovered at the 24; two plays later Chambliss hit Harrison Wallace for a 13-yard touchdown and a 34-24 lead with 9:02 to play.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx) Georgia rallied: Stockton's 18-yard touchdown pass to Zachariah Branch and Peyton Woodring's 24-yard field goal with 56 seconds left tied the game at 34.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx)
**Final minute.** Chambliss answered with a 40-yard pass to [De'Zhaun Stribling](https://www.edgepedia.org/dezhaun-stribling) on third-and-5 from the Ole Miss 30, setting up Carneiro's 47-yard field goal with six seconds remaining.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx) On the ensuing kickoff, Ole Miss was awarded a safety when Georgia's return team tried a cross-field lateral that hit the pylon; Georgia recovered an [onside kick](https://www.edgepedia.org/onside-kick) and ran one final play of laterals that fizzled.[2](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/1/2/QF-Sugar-recap)
## Individual performances
[Trinidad Chambliss](https://www.edgepedia.org/trinidad-chambliss), the Miller-Digby Offensive MVP, passed for 362 yards and two touchdowns on 30-of-46 passing, including a Sugar Bowl record 13 consecutive completions at one point.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx) Wallace caught nine passes for 156 yards and a touchdown, Stribling had seven catches for 122 yards, and Lacy rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns.[2](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/1/2/QF-Sugar-recap) Stockton passed for 203 yards and a touchdown and ran for two scores.[2](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/1/2/QF-Sugar-recap) Defensive MVP Will Echoles, a sophomore defensive tackle, registered five tackles, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx)
## Aftermath
The win sent Ole Miss (13-1) to the College Football Playoff semifinal against Miami in the [Fiesta Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/fiesta-bowl) on January 8.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx) It was Georgia's second straight season ending in the playoff quarterfinals at the Sugar Bowl.[1](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx)
## The bowl's setting
The Sugar Bowl dates to a 1927 proposal by New Orleans Item publisher Colonel James M. Thomson and sports editor Fred Digby; the inaugural game was played January 1, 1935, when Tulane faced Temple, and it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country.[5](https://www.neworleans.com/articles/post/sugar-bowl-hall-of-fame-exhibit-highlights-more-than-90-years-of-new-orleans-sports-history/) • [6](https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/sports/events/) Across its history it has hosted 55 Hall of Fame coaches, 21 Heisman winners and 29 national championship squads, and over the ten years through 2026 it generated more than $2.5 billion in economic impact for New Orleans and Louisiana.[7](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/7/9/records.aspx?path=football)
The 2027 edition will move deeper into January than ever before: it will serve as a College Football Playoff semifinal on Friday, January 15, 2027, the latest date in the game's 93-year history, with a 6:30 p.m. Central kickoff on ABC and ESPN, its first broadcast-television airing since 2010.[8](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/news/2026/6/1/game-date-time.aspx)
## References
1. [92nd Annual Allstate Sugar Bowl - January 1, 2026, Allstate Sugar Bowl](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/1/12/92nd-sugar-bowl.aspx)
2. [CFP Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Recap, College Football Playoff](https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2026/1/2/QF-Sugar-recap)
3. [No. 6 Ole Miss game notes vs. Georgia (CFP Sugar Bowl), Ole Miss Athletics](https://olemisssports.com/documents/download/2025/12/31/25OM_FBNotes_14Georgia_CFP_Rd2_SugarBowl.pdf)
4. [Postponed Sugar Bowl played with enhanced security about 36 hours after terror attack in New Orleans, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/d6142ce05560f597c65dd99846e8ac4e)
5. [Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame Exhibit Highlights More Than 90 Years of New Orleans Sports History, New Orleans & Company](https://www.neworleans.com/articles/post/sugar-bowl-hall-of-fame-exhibit-highlights-more-than-90-years-of-new-orleans-sports-history/)
6. [New Orleans Professional Sports, New Orleans & Company](https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/sports/events/)
7. [Sugar Bowl History and Records, Allstate Sugar Bowl](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/sports/2026/7/9/records.aspx?path=football)
8. [Allstate Sugar Bowl to Serve as CFP Semifinal on January 15, Allstate Sugar Bowl](https://allstatesugarbowl.org/news/2026/6/1/game-date-time.aspx)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Individual matches and results › Notable individual football matches*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license