The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (12-1, 7-1 SEC) will play the winner of the College Football Playoff first-round matchup 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 will play in Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday, December 20 at 3:30 pm ET. The game will be televised on TNT.
Georgia will face the winner of Tulane in the Sugar Bowl, the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Tulane and Mississippi have already met this season, with the Rebels dominating the matchup 45-10. In the first game, Mississippi State led Tulane by more than 250 yards.
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The Rebels will be without head coach Lane Kiffin in the playoffs. However, Mississippi State and star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss are still expected to play well against Tulane and set up a rematch with Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Dawgs defeated Ole Miss 43-35 in the regular season in Athens, a game in which Georgia did not punt. We expect more defense in the second game between Georgia and Mississippi State.
Will Ole Miss beat Tulane? ESPN’s predictions
Mississippi Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) runs the ball and Tulane Green Wave linebacker Sam Howard (15) chases it
Mississippi State won by two touchdowns against Tulane, which was a bit surprising considering Alabama’s success in the series. ESPN’s game predictions give Mississippi State an 84.0% chance of beating Tulane. The Green Wave have a 16.0% chance of beating Mississippi State in what would be a shocking upset. Match predictors include team performance throughout the season, Football Power Index (FPI) and other key variables.
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ESPN’s SP+ has Mississippi State winning. It predicts Ole Miss will win 39-21.
Georgia National Championship Chance
According to FPI, Georgia has an 11.6% chance of winning the national championship (third nationally). Mississippi State has a 4.8% chance of winning the national championship (sixth nationally), while Tulane has a 0.1% chance of winning the national championship (tied for 11th nationally).
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 (West, 44-41 in overtime)
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Sept. 27: vs. Alabama (L, 24-21)
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Oct. 4: vs. Kentucky (women, 35-14)
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Oct. 11: Auburn (W, 20-10)
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Oct. 18: vs. Ole Miss (women, 43-35)
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Nov. 1: vs. Florida (women, 24-20)
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November 8: 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 (28-7 SEC Championship game)
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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 team’s Sugar Bowl opponents
