Rules Analyst Claims Miami Got Away With Pass Interference on Final Play of Game

Did Ole Miss get robbed?

Miami fans celebrate with the Fiesta Bowl Trophy after winning the CFP Fiesta Bowl against Ole Miss. / Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Carson Beck scampered in for a touchdown with 18 seconds left in the Fiesta Bowl to give Miami a 31-27 lead over Ole Miss. An assistant coach jumped on Mario Cristobal's back to celebrate but the leader of the Hurricanes wasn't having it as he knew there was plenty of time for the Rebels to pull off a miracle. And thanks to a few nice plays from quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss did have one last chance to win the ball game with six seconds remaining and the ball 35 yards from the end zone.

And what was a low-percentage attempt almost succeeded as Chambliss's pass hit receiver De'Zhaun Stribling's hand.

The ESPN broadcast crew should be ashamed of themselves. They did not serve the audience appropriately last night. That is definitely a pass interference against Miami. This isn’t jostling back & forth in the vein of a jump ball. Ole Miss gets mugged here pic.twitter.com/YOnaSYXavN

— Brendan Abban (@BrendanAbban) January 9, 2026

There was quite a bit of contact on the play from Miami defensive back Ethan O'Connor. Enough for NBC Sports rules analyst Terry McAulay to hop on X and say there should have been pass interference called on the play.

This is defensive pass interference. Everything up until the ball comes in is just mutual contact between two players tracking the ball.

But as the ball arrives the defender grabs the jersey with the right hand and pulls the defender down.

Best angle: pic.twitter.com/AaWTHtMEz7

— Terry McAulay (@tjmcaulay) January 9, 2026

Such a call would have given Ole Miss another shot, 15 yards closer to the end zone. And when you watch the replay, there's a lot of grabbing and pulling. More than usual on one of these desperation Hail Mary-esque heaves.

But the truth of the matter is that these are almost never called. Defensive players know that they'll be given great latitude to get physical and the officials aren't going to do anything about it. Fair or otherwise, that's just how things go. The best chance of scoring is to just throw the ball up and hope it takes a carom into someone's arms.

For Miami, which lost its last best chance to win it all due to a late pass interference penalty against Ohio State in 2003, it was poetic that no flag appeared to derail their celebration. Even if, by the letter of the law, one would have been warranted.

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