NEW ORLEANS — Kirby Smart and Pete Golding both want to keep a good thing going, but they’ll go about it in different ways on Thursday night.
For Smart, in his 10th season as Georgia’s head coach, it’s about being more dialed in after a long layoff than his Bulldogs were in last year’s 23-10 loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl quarterfinal.
For Golding, who’s in his second game as the Ole Miss head coach after replacing Lane Kiffin, it’s about maintaining the momentum the Rebels have built in this, their most accomplished modern-era season.
“This thing (was) already rolling, it wasn’t like taking over and starting fresh,” Golding said at the Sugar Bowl coaches’ press conference on Wednesday at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel.
“Everything was headed in the right direction, we’ve got really good players and good systems that have been in place.”
The same holds true at Georgia, but unlike Ole Miss, which already has a CFP opening round win under its belt after defeating Tulane, 41-10 on Dec. 20, the Bulldogs have not played since defeating Alabama 28-7 on Dec. 6 in the SEC championship game.
“It’s concerning as a coach to have a long layoff,” Smart said on Wednesday. “In no sport anywhere do you go that long in a team sport without playing a game when you’re in a rhythm of playing a game, right?”
Smart said he’s talked to other coached who have dealt with having an opening-round bye in the CFP about dealing with the layoff, and he aims to apply those lessons learned.
“We’ve taken a different approach to it this year,” Smart said, “we’re going to see how it goes.”
Things to know for Saturday’s Ole Miss-Georgia game
• When: 8 p.m., Saturday
• Where: Caesar’s Superdome, (capacity 83,000).
• Rankings and records: No. 3 Georgia (12-1); No. 6 Ole Miss (12-1)
• TV/radio: ESPN/Georgia Bulldog Sports Network and SiriusXM 374/84
• Weather: Indoor stadium
• Series: Georgia leads 35-13-1. Georgia won in Athens on Oct. 18 this season, 43-35.
• Availability report
Georgia –SS Kyron Jones is out; DB Joenel Aguero is out; OLB Gabe Harris is out; DT Jordan Hall is out; OC Drew Bobo is out .
Ole Miss – CB Cedrick Beavers is out; OL John Wayne Oliver is out; LB Raymond Collins is out.
• Last meeting: Georgia outscored Ole Miss 17-0 in the fourth quarter for a come-from-behind 43-35 win in a game that saw the Rebels score touchdowns on their first five possessions. Gunner Stockton was 12-of-12 passing for 135 yards and three touchdowns in the second half, while Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was just 1-of-10 passing for 1 yards in the fourth quarter.
• Betting line: Georgia is a 6.5-point favorite.
• Tickets: Sugar Bowl tickets on the secondary market have been selling this week starting at $138 in the upper level and $318 each in the lower deck.
Storylines for Saturday’s Georgia game
Heisman Top 10s
Neither Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton nor Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss were considered preseason Heisman Trophy favorites, but they finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Chambliss ranks fifth in the nation with an 86.3 QB rating, while Stockton is sixth with an 85.8 rating.
Chambliss has passed for 3,298 yards 19 TDs and three interceptions and rushed 124 times for 506 yards and eight touchdowns.
Stockton has passed for 2,691 yards and 23 TDs with five interception and rushed 116 times for 442 yards and eight touchdowns.
Hard to Kill
Georgia finished 7-1 in the SEC regular season, with six of its seven wins coming after the Bulldogs were trailing, including the 43-35 win over Ole Miss earlier this season.
Georgia’s 35-14 home win over Kentucky was the only time in the Bulldogs’ eight SEC games that UGA did not trail.
Kirby Smart is 79-11 in games Georgia scores first and 37-10 when the Bulldogs’ opponent scores first.
Starting Streaks
Gunner Stockton is the only Georgia player to start every game dating back to last year’s season-ending loss to Notre Dame, boasting a starting streak of 14 games.
UGA tight end Oscar Delp and offensive guard Micah Morris are the only two players on offense to start every game this season.
Georgia has five players on defense who have started every game this season: safety KJ Bolden, outside linebacker Gabe Harris (who is out this game), outside linebacker Quintavius Johnson, defensive tackle Christen Miller and linebacker Raylen Wilson.
Branch reaching for record
Georgia receiver Zachariah Branch, who transferred in from USC, can set the Bulldogs’ single-season record for receptions with four catches in the Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss.
Branch has 73 catches for 744 yards and five touchdowns.
Brice Hunter holds the current record for single-season receptions (76), setting that mark in 1993.
Terrence Edwards is the single-season record holder at UGA for most receiving yards in a season with 1,004, set in 2002.
Georgia standard
The Bulldogs hold the longest active streak in college football for bowl appearances (29), dating back to Kirby Smart’s junior year as a safety in the program (1997).
Georgia owns the best record among FBS teams since the start of the 2021 season (65-6), and is the only program to win two CFP championships in that span (2021, 2022).
Georgia and Ohio State, which is 59-9 since the start of the 2021 season, are the only FBS schools to win 11 or more games every season since 2021.
