Ole Miss is officially two wins away from pulling off an arc that belongs in a movie script.
The Rebels' season had it all, an unprecedented head coaching change right before the College Football Playoff, to defying the odds against the creme-de-la-creme Georgia in the quarterfinals.
Now, as they prepare for Gendale, they are once again playing with the house money as the underdogs.
Yet, Golding showed the Rebels have what it takes to potentially take down the ACC force that took down the previous season's National Champions.
Meanwhile, ESPN's David Hale handed Pete Golding precisely the thing he needs to take care of at the State Farm this Friday.
Miami's pass rush could be fatal for Ole Miss
Hale noted that Ole Miss could win if they can "slow down Miami's pass rush."
"The secret sauce for the Hurricanes' first two playoff wins was the defensive front. But will that be as big an issue for the Rebels? Through the first three quarters of the Sugar Bowl, Georgia had just four pressures -- and no sacks -- despite 15 blitzed dropbacks," Hale explained.
"When the Dawgs finally did break through early in the fourth quarter, Chambliss shrugged off the pressure to deliver a trio of nifty throws, including a 44-yard completion that set up a touchdown. And Ole Miss did all this despite Lacy nursing a shoulder injury that had him at less than 100%."
Still, Miami's pass rush is better than what Georgia could muster, making the matchup between the Canes' dynamic defensive front and Chambliss one that could decide which team advances to the title game."
Miami’s Akheem Mesidor (10.5 sacks) and Rueben Bain Jr. are absolute terrors. They just sacked Ohio State's QB five times in a quarterfinal game.
If Ole Miss’s pass protection crumbles, Chambliss won't have time to breathe, let alone throw and get the numbers up.
It makes it clear why Ole Miss needed OC Charlie Weis Jr. to stay back the most for this game.