Dawg Tracks: 15 thoughts heading into the Sugar Bowl

Here is this week’s Dawg Tracks column with Georgia preparing to face Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday. 

1. Georgia didn’t need any extra motivation for Thursday’s Sugar Bowl. However, if certainly got some in the form of bulletin board material during Tuesday’s media day. 

2. Ole Miss defensive tackle Will Echoles made it sound like the Rebels gifted quarterback Gunner Stockton an 83.9 completion percentage, 289 passing yards, 59 rushing yards and five total touchdowns. “I mean, honestly, all the plays he made, we gave them to him,” Echoles said. I suppose that’s one way to look at it. 

3. Safety Wydett Williams Jr. called Stockton a good football player but also described him as a “game manager.” Even when applied kindly, quarterbacks aren’t fond of that label. Perhaps with all of the hubbub in Oxford of late, media training was placed on the backburner. 

4. Linebacker Princewill Umanmielen told reporters that, “We feel like we beat ourselves.” Again, that’s quite a disrespectful take toward a team that scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win 43-35.

5. All of this followed quarterback Trinidad Chambliss saying, “We felt like we were the better team that day and we felt like we should have won that game,” just three days ago. It’s certainly perplexing to provide a highly motivated team with an experienced coaching staff this kind of material to further fuel their fire.

6. On some level, you have to respect the confidence the Ole Miss players have in themselves, even if it’s a shortsighted and silly thing to do before a playoff game. This is certainly not the strategy most teams would take. Then again, Ole Miss isn’t most teams. Only the Rebels could put forth their best regular season in program history and watch their head coach leave for a conference rival. 

7. On top of that, the Rebels could end up playing in front of Lane Kiffin, as he and Louisiana Gov./Special Envoy to Greenland Jeff Landry are reportedly contemplating attending the Sugar Bowl together. 

8. Ole Miss was able to take care of Tulane on talent alone. It’s now facing a much better Georgia team that has improved since the first meeting. Therefore, will the Rebels be in the right headspace given the Kiffin distraction? Has head coach Pete Golding done enough to keep his players’ focus on the Bulldogs and not other pressing items?

9. Of course, what’s on a lot of folks’ mind in the SEC is what happens to Ole Miss in the transfer portal. Chambliss hasn’t done much to rule out the possibility of leaving. Would Chambliss follow Kiffin to LSU? What other players could end up at LSU? Six assistants who followed Kiffin to LSU are coaching Ole Miss in this game. That’s beyond bonkers. 

10. If Ole Miss pulls off the upset, it may be one of the greatest coaching jobs in decades. It would also signal that college athletes are becoming more adept at balancing wild distractions in the NIL and transfer portal era. 

11. Colbie Young would be a huge addition if he’s able to go play in the Sugar Bowl. Listed as probable, Young hasn’t suited up since fracturing his leg in Georgia’s first meeting against Ole Miss. It’s remarkable that his return could come in a rematch when no one expected him to return this season. 

12. Gabe Harris won’t be able to play Thursday, which is a blow to the Georgia defense. Harris was injured in Georgia’s SEC Championship win over Alabama, and that is only going to make some folks clamor to do away with the game given the expanded playoff. 

13. Given the Ole Miss comments specific to Stockton, you can bet he’s going to be plenty motivated to make some plays. But Georgia’s advantage in this game is on the ground. The Bulldogs totaled 221 rushing yards the first time around. Ole Miss ranks 13th in the SEC by allowed 147.8 rushing yards per game. 

14. Defensively, the biggest key will be holding the bulk of Ole Miss’ scoring opportunities to field goals. The Rebels aren’t likely to be as easy to contain as Alabama in the SEC Championship. 

15. Ryan Puglisi announcing that he’s returning for the 2026 season was certainly welcomed by the Georgia program. You just don’t see many quarterbacks taking the old school approach to starting these days. However, it’s paid off for Stockton and perhaps it pays off for Puglisi down the road.