Miami Closes a 23-Year Wound By Finally Slaying Its Ohio State Demon

By outplaying the reigning national champions with no controversy attached in a decisive Cotton Bowl victory, the Hurricanes erased the defining pain of their modern history.

Miami quarterback Carson Beck and defensive back Jakobe Thomas lift the Cotton Bowl trophy after defeating Ohio State. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

ARLINGTON, Texas — It is not often that there is a precise moment where a titan in college football falls from Mount Everest.

The programs who lord over the sport mostly trail off gradually: a loss here or there turns into a streak of setbacks that leads to roster turnover, coaching changes and a pining to get back to the place where they once reigned no matter the cost. 

That is not the case for Miami. 

Every one of their fans and the former players who regularly dot the sidelines can recall the exact play where The U’s fall from grace began—pretty much to the second. In the first overtime of the 2003 BCS championship game, the slowly released flag flew for a pass interference call that is forever etched into the school’s lore. Whether real or imagined, it stands out as the exact play that put an end to a 34-game win streak and hastened a movement from being one of the most feared teams in the country to play into one of the most mocked. 

For 23 years that moment has clamped down on the program and turned Ohio State, the opponent on that cool desert night at the Fiesta Bowl, into something of a boogeyman. At the same time, the Buckeyes became a regular championship-winning powerhouse. It has consumed coaches and boosters in South Florida and, truthfully, even those with fleeting connections to the school who may have a turnover chain hanging somewhere in their residence.

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Nothing will ever completely erase that sliding-doors play for Miami, just as The U will never actually be back until it finally hoists a championship trophy. But on New Year’s Eve at the Cotton Bowl quarterfinal in the College Football Playoff, the 2025 Hurricanes finally brought a little closure to that ignominious chapter with a 24–14 statement victory that appropriately came against the reigning national champion Buckeyes which had eyes on a dynastic run.

Most satisfying for those swaying in celebration as the final seconds ticked off at AT&T Stadium, though? There was no controversy attached to the result nor any assistance needed from those in black-and-white stripes. Miami was straight up better than Ohio State and finally had the scoreboard to prove it after years of heartbreak descending from one that went the other way.  

“It is my obligation as a former Miami Hurricane player—and all the things that Miami did for my brother and I—to do my best to try to provide these guys with even better opportunities so they can fulfill all the great things they are destined for,” coach Mario Cristobal said. “I’m glad to see them enjoy a moment like this. I know it’s been a long time for them. And you know what? It’s great for the city and great for the community. When the Miami Hurricanes do great things, the city of Miami and the community really, really comes together.”

There was much of that on Wednesday night, from Cristobal pointing to and later embracing his former coach, Jimmy Johnson, just before confetti cannons were fired off to the team Cristobal built in his image swallowing up its opponent in the trenches the coaching staff had painstakingly designed to win these types of games. 

The Hurricanes and their fearsome pass rush, led by defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, were relentless from the opening snap to the final nail-in-the-coffin interception that defensive back Jakobe Thomas came down with in the final minute to seal the game. The front seven harassed Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin into five sacks and one of his worst games of the season (22 of 35 with one touchdown and two interceptions), with the Heisman Trophy finalist looking like nothing of the sort amid rushed drop-backs and ill-advised throws.

“We put ourselves behind the eight ball. We worked really hard during the last three weeks leading up to this game to come out of the gates and win the first quarter, win the first half, be ready to go. I thought we had an excellent plan on that in what we did,” a downtrodden Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “I think the guys bought into it. But at the end of the day, we didn’t get it done. And that starts with me and goes down from there. I take responsibility for not getting the guys ready.”

Such accountability is no surprise coming from one of just three active head coaches with a national title ring. It will also ring hollow for many Ohio State supporters after a one-and-done playoff trip with a roster considered to be the most expensive in college football this season. 

The Buckeyes showcased some of that at least, with star receiver Jeremiah Smith looking more comfortable than in last season’s semifinal against Texas. He was held to just one catch for three yards in that game, but was close to unstoppable against the hometown program he nearly committed to out of high school by pulling in seven catches for 157 yards and a touchdown on the eight passes lobbed in his direction.

“You know our motto was start fast, and we didn’t start fast so it became a dogfight. Unfortunately we had times we could have won that game and we just didn’t,” says Buckeyes left guard Luke Montgomery. “I think we have a lot better team than last year, if I’m being completely honest with you. So it sucks to see this team go away like that—especially when you know we should be winning it all.”

That opinion was shared as the Buckeyes were installed as the CFP favorite by oddsmakers even after their surprising loss to Indiana 25 days ago in the Big Ten championship game. It made sense right up until kickoff, too, given the number of key players who were part of last season’s run and considering the defense was on pace to be one of the best the sport had seen in nearly a decade—allowing only 8.2 points per game.

Hurricanes defensive back Keionte Scott returns an interception for a touchdown against the Buckeyes. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Against Miami though, Ohio State was not an aggressor like it had been so often the past few years. Instead the Hurricanes delivered body blows and answered every questionable drive with a decisive play. At every turn, just when you thought Ohio State would show some championship mettle and turn the corner, it was the 10th-seeded ACC foe that took advantage. 

That was clear early in the second drive when tailback Mark Fletcher Jr. committed the first big mistake of the night just as Miami reached the red zone. Trying to pick up a third-and-2 out of a jumbo formation with extra offensive linemen, linebacker Payton Pierce punched the ball out and managed to fall on the loose ball on the tailback’s only lost fumble of the season.

The Buckeyes were unable to take advantage of the extra possession by going three-and-out, giving the ball back to a Miami offense that went right back to Fletcher (90 total yards) with a handful of carries. Quarterback Carson Beck found him on a swing pass out of the backfield that he took into the end zone to cap a 13-play, 83-yard march that soaked up 8:04 off the clock across the first and second quarters. 

Ohio State did not seem to take too kindly to allowing its ninth red zone touchdown of the season by immediately responding with a 59-yard pass to Smith on its next offensive play. That euphoria was short-lived. Sayin took a sack on the next play, and then Miami corner Keionte Scott completely blew up a screen play that he took back for a 72-yard pick-six. The 14–0 lead by the Hurricanes was Ohio State’s largest deficit in three seasons.

PICK 6!!! MIAMI 14-0 🍿

(via @espn)pic.twitter.com/yE0Af6bApW

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 1, 2026

“They’re a really, really good football team. I mean, there is NFL talent all over,” said Beck, who was just 19 of 26 for 138 yards and a touchdown but also delivered several key runs to move the sticks. “I’m scrambling on third down and those dudes are converging on me so fast. Those linebackers are massive and running sideline to sideline. They’re probably the most talented defense I’ve ever faced, that I’ve ever gone against player to player. That’s one hell of a team. And I’m really proud of our guys to be able to pull it out against a team like that.”

The Buckeyes closed the gap to 17–14 just after the start of the fourth quarter when Smith broke free for a touchdown on a nifty fourth-and-2 play inside the red zone. But they got no closer as the Canes once again responded in kind. That first included forcing a punt with Ohio State backed up in its territory before embarking on a 10-play, 70-yard scoring effort that allowed the solid contingent of orange and green dotting the 71,323 to begin dreaming of potentially playing for a national title on their home field. 

That’s not as far-fetched as it would seem barely a month removed from Cristobal channeling his inner politician to lobby for his team’s inclusion in the playoff. While it may have been the last at-large team in the 12-team field, Miami’s win moved it to an impressive 6–0 vs. AP-ranked teams this season—the program’s most since 1987 (when the Hurricanes won the national title).

That thinking is now out in the open, including by The Playmaker, Michael Irvin.

Playing at the home of his beloved Dallas Cowboys, the former Miami star was hanging on every snap at the Cotton Bowl. At one point, he looked like he was about to find a helmet and a way onto the turf if need be, provided he wasn’t sweating things out with his hands on his knees like the thousands of other nervous supporters. 

Such nerves though, unlike so many similar moments over the past few years, eventually gave way to euphoria. Yet Irvin’s unique way of casting off the program’s recent demons came in an act of catharsis that only he could deliver.

Finding an Ohio State sweatshirt on the sidelines shortly after the final whistle and not long before spending a few minutes with Johnson breaking down key plays, the Hall of Famer draped the scarlet item over a water cooler before removing his belt.

Raising it up high for all to see, he began to waylay the back of the Buckeyes top. Each thump became louder as if releasing 23 years of pain with each strike and summing up the game he just witnessed.

The Playmaker: “We put belt to ass.” pic.twitter.com/O24omg4ofW

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) January 1, 2026

“Every time you’re going to make us a 9.5, 10-point underdog like that, we’re going to start the game off like a Category 5 hurricane. Just like we did,” screamed Irvin to every camera and microphone he could find. “I’m not letting that old story mess with my glory, talking about how long [it’s been]. Damn it how long. History is gone! We right here, right now. Every team that thought they were going to beat us is taking their ass home.” 

All too often since one infamous moment two decades ago, it always felt like Miami was the one who had to pack up and do that. 

No longer with their past put to bed in the most perfect way possible—by vanquishing the reigning national champion Buckeyes with a result which will stick in everyone’s minds.

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