The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (12-1, 7-1 SEC) will play the winner of the College Football Playoff first-round game between the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels (11-1, 7-1 SEC) and the No. 11 Tulane Green Wave (11-2, 7-1 AAC). Ole Miss and Tulane play on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 3:30 p.m. ET in Oxford, Mississippi. The game will be televised on TNT.
Georgia will play the winner of Tulane at Ole Miss game in the Sugar Bowl, which is the quarterfinals of the playoff. Tulane and Ole Miss already played this season with the Rebels dominating the contest in a 45-10 win. Ole Miss outgained Tulane by over 250 yards in the first meeting.
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In the playoff, the Rebels will be without head coach Lane Kiffin. However, Ole Miss and star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss are still expected to take care of business against Tulane and earn a rematch against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Dawgs defeated Ole Miss 43-35 in Athens during the regular season in a game where Georgia did not punt. We’d expect more defense in a second clash between Georgia and Ole Miss.
Will Ole Miss beat Tulane? ESPN’s prediction
Mississippi Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) runs the ball as Tulane Green Wave linebacker Sam Howard (15) pursues
Ole Miss is over a two touchdown favorite against Tulane, which is a bit of a surprise considering Alabama’s success in the series. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Ole Miss a 84.0% chance to defeat Tulane. The Green Wave have a 16.0% chance of beating Ole Miss, which would be a shocking upset. The matchup predictor factors team performance throughout the season, the football power index (FPI) and other key variables.
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ESPN’s SP+ thinks Mississippi will win. It predicts a 39-21 Ole Miss victory.
Georgia’s national championship chances
UGA has 11.6% chance of winning the national championship (third-best in the nation), according to the FPI. Ole Miss has a 4.8% chance of winning the national title (sixth in the country) while Tulane Has only a 0.1% chance of winning a national title (tied for No. 11 in the country).
Georgia football 2025 schedule
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Aug. 30: vs. Marshall (W, 45-7)
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Sept. 6: vs. Austin Peay (W, 28-6)
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Sept. 13: at Tennessee (W, 44-41 in OT)
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Sept. 27: vs. Alabama (L, 24-21)
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Oct. 4: vs. Kentucky (W, 35-14)
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Oct. 11: at Auburn (W, 20-10)
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Oct. 18: vs. Ole Miss (W, 43-35)
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Nov. 1: vs. Florida (W, 24-20)
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Nov. 8: at Miss. State (W, 41-21)
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Nov. 15: vs. Texas (W, 35-10)
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Nov. 22: vs. Charlotte (W, 35-3)
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Nov. 28: vs. Georgia Tech (W, 16-9)
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Dec. 6 vs. Alabama (W, 28-7 in SEC championship)
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Jan. 1 vs. Ole Miss/Tulane (Sugar Bowl) at 8 p.m. ET
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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: ESPN predicts Georgia football’s Sugar Bowl opponent
