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Miami Holds Off Ole Miss in Fiesta Bowl Thriller to Punch Ticket to CFP Title Game

The Hurricanes are heading to the national championship.

Mike McDaniel

The Miami Hurricanes are heading to the national championship.
The Miami Hurricanes are heading to the national championship. / Erick Rasco/Sports Illustrated
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The Miami Hurricanes are heading to the national championship.

In a wild Fiesta Bowl, the Hurricanes scored late on a three-yard touchdown scamper from quarterback Carson Beck to clinch the victory for Miami.

After nearly missing out on the College Football Playoff bracket entirely, the Hurricanes have now rattled off three straight victories. Here's how it happened.

Game Summary

After an early Miami field goal, Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy got the Rebels on the board on the first play of the second quarter with a 73-yard touchdown run. The Hurricanes had not given up a run of more than 40 yards all season.

Lacy suffered an apparent hamstring injury on that run, and received treatment throughout the second quarter and during halftime. He returned to the game in the third quarter with a sleeve on his leg.

As for Miami, trailing 7-3, the offense went back to work on the ensuing drive. A 15-play, 75-yard drive ended with a four-yard CharMar Brown touchdown run as the Hurricanes regained a 10-7 lead.

After Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro converted a 42-yard field goal to tie the game up at 10, Miami hit on an explosive play in the passing game. Veteran wideout Keelan Marion broke loose on a busted coverage play by the Rebels secondary and hauled in a perfect ball from quarterback Carson Beck in stride for a 52-yard touchdown.

Miami appeared primed to take a 17-10 lead into halftime before Rebels kicker Carneiro made the longest field goal of his career—a 58-yarder—to cut the Hurricanes lead to 17-13 at the break.

Ole Miss was certainly content to only trail by four at halftime, considering that they were outgained 228-145, did not convert a third down on five attempts, and trailed in time of possession 22:44 to 7:16.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter. Ole Miss trailed 17-16 and had the ball deep in Miami territory. On third-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss checked down in the flat to Lacy, who dropped a pass that would have been short of the end zone anyway. The 14-play, 86-yard drive ended in a short 21-yard Carneiro field goal as the Rebels regained a 19-17 lead.

On the ensuing possession, Miami's Beck found freshman All-American Malachi Toney on a screen pass that the speedster took 36 yards to the house as the Hurricanes found big play magic once again with 5:04 to play.

As Ole Miss has its entire playoff run, it was time for Chambliss and the offense to respond down 24-19. And respond they did.

Chambliss found tight end Dae'Quan Wright twice on the drive: once for a gain of 21 yards up the left sideline, and a second time a few plays later for a 24-yard touchdown strike to help Ole Miss regain the lead. Chambliss hit Caleb Odom in the back of the end zone on the next play for a successful two-point conversion to give Ole Miss a 27-24 lead with just over three minutes to play.

But that's when Beck put together the best drive of his college career as a quarterback. The senior marched the Hurricanes methodically up the field, and when faced with 2nd-and-goal with 24 seconds to play, Beck scanned the field and tucked it down, scampering for a three-yard touchdown run that gave Miami the lead for good.

The touchdown run capped off a 15-play, 75-yard scoring drive to give the Hurricanes a 31-27 lead.

Ole Miss had one timeout remaining entering their final offensive possession, but only 18 seconds to work with. Chambliss completed passes of 23 and 17 yards to give the Rebels a chance to heave it to the end zone from the Hurricanes' 35-yard line as time expired, but his pass fell incomplete in the back corner of the end zone.

For the first time since 2003, the Hurricanes are heading to the national championship, where they'll await the winner of Indiana-Oregon in Friday's Peach Bowl.

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Mike McDaniel
MIKE MCDANIEL

Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.

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