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NEW ORLEANS -- It is apparently so hard to beat Georgia that Ole Miss effectively had to do it three times in order to advance in the College Football Playoff. 

Superdome staff, eager to get a jump on the celebration, wheeled on the stage for their trophy presentation while referees reviewed whether a would-be game ending lateral had left any time on the clock. The officials ruled that it had left time and even resulted in a safety against Georgia, so off it went as the players who rushed to grab helmets strewn about the sideline gathered themselves for hopefully one last play. A small splash of confetti lay in Ole Miss' end zone, another symbol of premature celebration. 

As Ole Miss let Georgia's free kick, onsides style, roll helplessly, the Dawgs recovered but no time went off the clock. Pete Golding had already been drenched with Gatorade when he realized it, and was left to direct his charges while drenched in Cool Blue. 

One more play was afforded to the Bulldogs. Finally, after 10 laterals from Georgia, the assumed became official and Ole Miss defeated Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, 39-34, to set up a date vs. Miami in the Fiesta Bowl. The stage finally stayed put, ready for a celebration by a team left behind by its coach that rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to stun the SEC's Big Bad.

Ole Miss, which had never won a CFP game before this season, is now in the sport's final four. The Rebels are seeking their second national title (they split the 1960 one with Minnesota). 

"My emotions right now, it's crazy," quarterback Trinidad Chambliss said. "Really speechless, honestly, about everything, because it was that same point, we were down nine -- or they were down nine the last time we played them, so it was kind of like roles reversed. I didn't play my best in the fourth quarter, so I wanted to redeem myself and get back again. So, honestly, just trusting my guys. Our coaches put us in a great position and we executed."

There were Trinidad & Tobago flags all over the dome, from the second level of the end zone that Ole Miss scored in, to the first row behind the bench, to the nosebleeds on the 600 level, and in the second deck on Ole Miss' sideline covering the side of the scoreboard that showed Georgia's losing point total. It has become the red and black totem of the fanbase in support of their portal star, popularized by the coach who left even though he isn't actually named after the island nation. 

There was a flag in an end zone suite belonging to 11-year-old Swayze. She and her family flew in from Dallas for the game, and ended up on the field during the postgame celebration. 

"We got it for Christmas," she told CBS Sports. "We brought it because we wanted to be on the JumboTron."

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Chambliss with young fans who brought in the flag of Trinidad & Tobago.  CBS Sports Research

She got more than that when Chambliss, following a postgame interview, stopped to take a picture with her and her brother before he went to embrace his own family. 

In the prep leading to the game, Ole Miss had put an emphasis on finishing -- which they had not done earlier this season in Athens, when they surrendered a two-score lead. As the old saying goes, it's hard to beat a team twice, and Georgia found that out. Chambliss, who threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns in the game, was unstoppable as the second half, escaping pockets thanks to poor contain from the Georgia pass rush; from there, Chambliss' scramble drill was just getting started, and he'd generate backbreaking chunk plays, backyard style. 

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CBS Sports Research

Ole Miss finished gaining 6.5 yards per play on offense and the Rebels defense bowed up with nine tackles for loss, an emphasis for coach Pete Golding, who brought up repeatedly the importance of not missing tackles. 

"I think in the first half we didn't leverage the ball very well on defense," Golding said. "We're getting to the ball; we just had a lot of missed tackles. This was an issue when we played them the first time. We had double-digit missed tackles and understanding angles and all that. So we weren't really concerned from a scheme standpoint. There wasn't anything at halftime where we were like, all right, we've got to change." 

Ole Miss' best offense in the first half came from kicker Lucas Carneiro, who hit two career longs in the game from 55 and 56 yards on stalled Rebels first half drives. While he was 6-6 from 50-plus last year at Western Kentucky and 1-2 this year, he had been "off" leading into the game. It hadn't been a good week of practice. During Ole Miss' dress rehearsal the day before the game, Carneiro uncharacteristically missed a couple times. And in pregame warmups, he did not even practice from as far back as 55 yards, he said. 

Caneiro hit the longest field goal in Sugar Bowl history twice in the game with room to spare, then a 47-yarder with six seconds left to give Ole Miss the victory. 

"This is something I've dreamed about, and it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to come to the play in the stadium and win a Sugar Bowl," Carneiro said. "And obviously we got to do it again next week [in the] Fiesta Bowl."  

The most common sound heard on the Georgia side of the stands after the game were the belts clapping from the few Ole Miss fans with tickets on the Superdome's West Side. To the victors went the belt to ass celebrations on the first night of the new year. 

Yes, Lane Kiffin's spectre loomed during the week leading up to the Sugar Bowl -- and he had plenty to do with that. On Monday after bowl media day activities, multiple Ole Miss coaches slated to be a part of LSU's staff as soon as the Rebels' season ended traveled the 80 miles up to Baton Rouge for staff meetings. 

Yahoo Sports reported that Kiffin and Louisiana governor Jeff Landry were considering attending the game. It was reported that Kiffin reached out to ESPN personnel about appearing in the booth on the broadcast, as he did during LSU's Texas Bowl loss to Houston. ESPN was reportedly not receptive. In the end, Kiffin opted to remain in Baton Rouge and attended an LSU women's basketball game instead and was introduced like a conquering hero by coach Kim Mulkey.

As is typical, Kiffin tweeted his support of the Rebels postgame, but Ole Miss continues to win without him and in spite of the tumult he caused. 

The vindication could not be sweeter. 

"That's the thing I told [Golding] after the game, what he's been able to accomplish in the last three or four weeks with all the the moving parts and being able to multitask has been incredible, and to keep these guys focused, it's been awesome," athletic director Keith Carter told CBS Sports. "This is a very unique situation, we have some new staff that's in the building that's going to be here long term, some staff that's in the building that's not going to be here long term. 

"But, man, I think it also is just a credit to the guys, to the players, and just the maturity that they have, and it's just fun, and I feel really happy for them. We want to support Pete. And obviously, in the short term and the long term."

In another example of the peculiar nature of Ole Miss' plight, Chambliss said after the game that he is still yet to hear back about his waiver request for a sixth year of eligibility. The transfer portal opened officially minutes after Ole Miss won at midnight on the east coast. Inside the industry, it is believed that Kiffin is licking his chops to stock his LSU roster with the stars he had originally brought to Ole Miss. But he cannot do that until Ole Miss' season ends. 

Among the players Golding knows he'll have to work to keep: Carneiro. 

"I think a lot of people in the country think Lucas is the best kicker in the country, so a lot of people want Lucas," Golding said. "So I've been meeting with Lucas a lot lately. We've had a lot of good meetings here, and especially this week. I got to spend a lot of time with him one-on-one and just getting to know him a little more and figuring out what he wants in the future."  

Hours after the celebrations were over in an empty Superdome, the only thing left on the field was that confetti-filled stage. Strip away the distractions, and the focus on the coach who isn't here, and all the uncertainty about what's next and the only thing that matters is that this Ole Miss team found its way onto that stage even if their celebration took a little longer than they would have liked. 

The fact that they continue playing means their uncertain future will have to wait.