ATHENS, Georgia – For the first time in the 2025 season, Ole Miss will spend at least part of its Sunday wondering what almost was.
The then-undefeated Rebels marched into Georgia’s Sanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon – a place where they lost by 35 points just two years ago – and took a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter against the Bulldogs. Ole Miss was unstoppable for the game’s first three quarters, scoring touchdowns on each of its first five drives. A signature road win was firmly within grasp, and a 7-0 start was staring the Rebels in the face.
All until it wasn’t.
Georgia outscored Ole Miss 17-0 in the fourth quarter, holding the Rebels to 13 yards of offense in the quarter. After nearly flawless offense in the game’s first three quarters, Ole Miss punted twice and turned the ball over on downs in its three fourth-quarter possessions. The Bulldogs scored on every single one of their drives in the game minus the final kneel downs and took down Ole Miss 43-35.
The Rebels (6-1, 3-1 SEC) face Oklahoma on the road next week at 11 a.m. The game will be broadcast on ABC.
Ole Miss senior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss started his fifth game in a row and first on the road for the Rebels and finished with 305 total yards and three total touchdowns. The Ferris State transfer had never been on the losing end of a game as a starter at the collegiate level until Saturday. But he remained confident one loss wasn’t going to sink Ole Miss’ ship. The Rebels were 5-0 after losses over the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
“I think this team (is) very resilient. Very resilient group. All season, we’re 6-0, so we were perfect. But that’s not the case (any more), and you know that you’re going to run into some bumps in the road,” Chambliss said. “Georgia’s a good team, credit to them. But this team, we’re not done. This isn’t going to define our season. We’re going to bounce back, get ready for Oklahoma and play some good ball.”
Senior wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling echoed Chambliss’ sentiments and believes that everything the Rebels still want to accomplish is still in front of them. Stribling led all players Saturday with 96 receiving yards.
“We have a lot of season left. We’re not going to let this one loss define us,” Stribling said. “We’re going to keep moving forward, onto the next game.”
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