All Georgia football fans want for Christmas is a Sugar Bowl victory.

OK, maybe the Bulldogs want more, but it’s important to stay in the present.

No doubt, these Bulldogs have brought great cheer (and cheers) throughout the season, growing into title contenders right before our eyes with dramatic, and of late, dominant, victories.

The oddsmakers have Ohio State as the favorite to win the CFP championship game (+180), with Big Ten Indiana (+300) second, followed by Georgia (+500) and Oregon (+700).

But a national championship can be the focus of the new year, perhaps serve as Kirby Smart’s first 2026 resolution?

Smart has already won two CFP championships, and he’s developed a team in 2025 that is arguably playing as well as any of the teams on the field on offense or defense.

Smart is the first reason to believe Georgia will beat Ole Miss when the team’s meet at 8 p.m. on Jan. 1 in New Orleans in the CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal.

1. Play it again Kirby

Smart is 4-0 in games where he’s playing a team for the second time, and improving that statistic to 5-0 is the first step toward what would be his third national title.

The Bulldogs came from behind to beat Ole Miss earlier this season, outscoring the Rebels 17-0 in the fourth-quarter of a 43-35 win on Oct. 18.

Smart recently said he doesn’t expect Ole Miss to change much from what it has done to run up a 12-1 record, that includes a 41-10 win over Tulane in a first-round CFP game played on Dec. 20 in Oxford.

That’s bad news for the Rebels.

Transition program

Ole Miss has a nice story, having won its first-round CFP game in impressive fashion without Lane Kiffin, who took the LSU head coaching job.

The school shot off fireworks, flew drones and had a wonderful afternoon of celebration amid Vaught Hemmingway Stadium.

The Rebels’ offensive staff, including play-calling OC Charlie Weis Jr., is on loan from the jobs they took with Kiffin.

For all the talk about those offensive coaches being focused, it’s worth noting the transfer portal opens on Jan. 2 and those coaches have been splitting their time between jobs.

It’s also likely a handful of Ole Miss players could be in talks to transfer to LSU, which certainly isn’t optimal when it comes to keeping a team dialed in.

A Rebels’ team with compromised focus versus a Georgia team that’s dialed in — you be the judge.

Lasting impression

It’s hard not to remember how Georgia ultimately dominated Ole Miss in the fourth quarter of the teams’ earlier meeting.

A refresher on how the Bulldogs sent the Rebels off to their team bus after the 43-35 win:

• Georgia out-gained Ole Miss 143 yards to 13 in the fourth quarter

• The Bulldogs had 10 first downs to the Rebels’ one in the final 15 minutes

• Trinidad Chambliss was 1-of-10 passing in the fourth quarter for 1 yard

• Gunner Stockton was 6-of-6 passing for 71 yards with 2 touchdown passes

• Georgia held the football for 13 minutes and four seconds, while Ole Miss had it for 1:53

• UGA ran the ball 19 times for 72 yards, the Rebels had one rush for 12 yards.

What has changed since then, other than Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU?

Likely, not nearly enough.