NEW ORLEANS — What if when Lane Kiffin dumped Ole Miss two days after the regular season ended in November, the triumphant spirit in these Rebels never waned?

What if they got stronger because Kiffin left?

Imagine that. Or just watch what the Rebels did Thursday night at the Superdome in coming from two scores down at halftime to hang 20 points in the final 12 minutes and snap Georgia’s 75-game streak of wins when it led to start the fourth quarter.

“A lot of people did doubt us before the season,” Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss said, “and they still doubted us when our coach left. We just want to play ball and have fun. And I think that’s showing right now.”

In the most entertaining College Football Playoff game of the season, Ole Miss avenged its only 2025 loss with a 39-34 quarterfinal victory. The Rebels, suddenly the most compelling story of this postseason, advanced to face Miami next Thursday in the national semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl.

At 13-1 overall and now 2-0 under coach Pete Golding, promoted from defensive coordinator less than five weeks ago, Ole Miss is one win away from playing for a national championship in its first CFP appearance.

Since Kiffin left on Nov. 30, Ole Miss players have grown only more resolved, they said, to shut out distractions and focus on football. They’re more closely knit as a result of the coaching drama and more prepared to handle the moments that Georgia, a five-time CFP participant, threw at them on Thursday.

It’s difficult to deny, and Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter buys into such a premise.

“I do,” Carter said after the celebration, halted when officials kept one second on the clock after Ole Miss was awarded a safety and again after Georgia jumped on an onside kick. “They’ve done a great job of blocking out all the noise and the distractions. These kids love to play football.

“If we went back out there right now, they’d play some more. It’s a mature group. They have one goal. That’s to win a national championship.”

The Rebels won’t be bothered with others’ obsession over Kiffin, a polarizing figure who built the program to reach the cusp of this peak it is climbing without him.

Kiffin opted not to attend the game, instead making an appearance at the LSU women’s basketball game 80 miles away in Baton Rouge.

But the Ole Miss players were pretty sure their former coach was watching the biggest win in program history.

“Yeah, for sure,” said wide receiver Harrison Wallace, who caught nine passes for 156 yards and a touchdown.

Wideout De’Zhaun Stribling agreed. Not that it occupied his thoughts.

“Being here in the moment, being here with these boys,” Stribling said, “seeing it come to life is a beautiful thing.”

Stribling covered 40 yards on the final completion by Chambliss, who was spectacular. The catch set up a 47-yard field goal by Lucas Carneiro with six seconds left to unlock a tie.