how did ole miss get a safety

Ole Miss got the safety on the final wild lateral play after Georgia received the kickoff with a few seconds left and tried a desperation return.

What actually happened

• After Ole Miss kicked a field goal to go up 37–34, there were still a few seconds on the clock, so they had to kick off to Georgia.

• Georgia ran a last‑ditch play with multiple laterals, trying to create a miracle return.

• During those laterals, the ball was eventually loose near the sideline and hit the pylon/out of bounds in their own end‑zone area, which by rule is a safety for Ole Miss.

Why it was so confusing

• Players and staff from Ole Miss started celebrating early, thinking the field goal had basically ended the game, and even after the safety there was confusion about whether time had fully expired.

• The sequence involved: a close score, the weird lateral play, the ball going out for a safety, then a free kick situation and clock review, which made the ending feel “one of the weirdest ever” to a lot of viewers.

The bottom line

• The safety was not from a sack in the end zone but from Georgia’s chaotic lateral attempt where the ball went out through the end‑zone area, triggering the two points for Ole Miss by rule.

• That safety pushed the margin from three points to five and effectively sealed Ole Miss’ Sugar Bowl win and trip to the College Football Playoff.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.