OXFORD — Ole Miss became relevant over the past few seasons because of Lane Kiffin’s genius and the Rebels’ high-powered offense.

It became a title contender on Saturday afternoon/evening thanks to a dominant, suffocating defense.

Cliches stick around for a reason, and in football parlance, even in this day and age, one still rings true.

Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships.

No. 16 Ole Miss’ defense was simply amazing Saturday, limiting No. 2 Georgia to 245 yards in the Rebels’ 28-10 win in front of a Vaught-Hemingway Stadium record crowd of 68,126. The Rebels held the Bulldogs’ running attack to just 59 yards and quarterback terrorized Carson Beck, limiting him to 20-for-31 passing for 186 yards.

On a day when Ole Miss was once again without star wide receiver Tre Harris and saw things compounded a bit early when quarterback Jaxson Dart had to go to the locker room with an ankle injury, the Rebels’ defense didn’t blink.

Ole Miss surrendered a touchdown following a Dart interception on the third play from scrimmage. Once things settled down, however, Ole Miss’ defense didn’t blink.

A year ago, when Ole Miss and Georgia met in Athens, the Bulldogs scored 52 points in an embarrassing five-touchdown rout. A year later and two states to the west, the Bulldogs’ offense had to wonder what hit them.

Over the past few seasons, Ole Miss has rebuilt its defense to match its offense. Primarily — but not exclusively — through the transfer portal, Ole Miss strategically assembled the unit second-year defensive coordinator Pete Golding envisioned. The Rebels added Walter Nolen from Texas A&M to pair with JJ Pegues to clog the middle of the field. They added Princely Umanmielen from Florida to join Jared Ivey and Suntarine Perkins as forces off the edge used to torture opposing quarterbacks.

They added TJ Dottery from Clemson and Pooh Paul from Arkansas to form one of the Southeastern Conference’s most dominant linebacker corps. Trey Amos came over from Alabama to give the Rebels a lock-down cornerback. They added Chris Graves Jr. from Miami and Jadon Canady from Tulane to round out a solid, versatile defensive secondary. Throw in some elite young defensive line talent from the high school ranks, asked to provide some depth and occasional punch, and Ole Miss suddenly has a defense that can win on any given Saturday.

There was nothing flukey about this Saturday in Oxford. Ole Miss simply manhandled Georgia for most of the game, handing the Bulldogs their first non-Alabama loss since the Covid-addled season of 2020.

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A year ago, the loss at Georgia killed Ole Miss’ championship dreams. A year later, a win over the Bulldogs likely catapulted the Rebels into the 12-team College Football Playoff. In two weeks, Ole Miss (8-2 overall, 4-2 in the SEC) travels to Florida. Six days later, the Rebels play host to Mississippi State. They’ll be double-digit favorites in both games. Assuming a pair of victories, a 10-win Ole Miss team is almost certainly a lock for the CFP, and with this defense, a legitimate threat to win the whole thing.

In the third quarter, one Georgia threat ended on a fumble forced by Zxavian Harris and recovered by Nolen at the Ole Miss 29.

Even after a Georgia drive was kept alive by a facemask penalty against Trey Washington, the defense responded. Perkins sacked Beck for a seven-yard loss. Later in the drive, on a fourth-and-10 from the Ole Miss 27, John Saunders Jr. picked off Beck with 7:22 left, setting off a party in Oxford.

Ole Miss played Abba’s “Dancing Queen,” and everyone sang along. Of course, at that moment, relieved, jubilant Ole Miss fans would’ve sang along to anything.

The Rebels' final blow was delivered by the defense. Georgia was desperately trying to manufacture a miracle when Umanmielen hit Beck, jarring the ball loose. Perkins pounced on it.

As the rain fell, Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer" blasted over the stadium speakers. It was euphoria for Ole Miss fans, but the song didn't fit the moment. Ole Miss didn't get to this place on a prayer. It was the result of a build.

Saturday was an arrival moment for the Rebels’ program, a culmination of years of trial and error. Kiffin always said he came to Ole Miss to win big, not just to be a cute contender who pulled off an upset here and there.

He pushed the school to give him everything he asked for, and it acquiesced. He pushed fans to give to The Grove Collective, and they did, assembling a $15-plus million roster. Kiffin wooed Golding from Alabama and gave the Louisiana native and former Delta State standout full autonomy.

Kiffin landed Dart when he left USC for the transfer portal and stuck with him through some trying times late in 2022. He gave him a myriad of weapons and a revamped offensive line.

On Saturday night, it all came together and Ole Miss emerged as a true blue-blood elite in modern college football.

And now, Ole Miss will look to go further. Unpredictably, the Rebels will do it with a defense-first mentality.