SCORE BY QUARTERS
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
FINAL






UM #10 Miami (13-2)
3
14
0
14
31


MISS #6 Ole Miss (13-2)
0
13
3
11
27



Attendance:
67,928


Kickoff Time:
5:46 p.m. MT


End of Game:
9:29 p.m. MT


Game Duration:
3:43

GLENDALE, Arizona (AP) — Carson Beck scrambled for a 3-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left, and Miami will head back home for a shot at its first national championship since 2001 after beating Mississippi 31-27 in an exhilarating College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.

“We never flinched,” said Beck, who threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. “In the face of adversity, when we had to respond, we responded.”

The 10th-ranked Hurricanes (13-2) didn’t play in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game and were a somewhat controversial CFP pick – at least outside of South Florida – yet proved they belong. They will face either top-ranked Indiana or No. 5 Oregon in the national title game on Jan. 19.

Miami held Texas A&M and reigning national champion Ohio State to a combined 17 points to reach the CFP semifinals. Then the Hurricanes shut down the high-scoring Rebels (13-2) for three quarters in the desert before pulling it out in a wild fourth.

Malachi Toney, hero of Miami’s opening CFP win over Texas A&M, turned a screen pass into a 36-yard touchdown that put the Hurricanes up 24-19.

Trinidad Chambliss, a year removed from winning a Division II title at Ferris State, led the Rebels down the field and found Dae’Quan Wright for a 24-yard touchdown with 3:13 left.

Then it was Beck’s turn.

He won a national title as a backup at Georgia before two productive seasons as the Bulldogs’ starter. Beck kept the Hurricanes calm amid the storm, leading them down the field for the winning score — and a shot at a national title on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium. Beck is 37-5 as a starter, including two seasons at Georgia.

“He’s hungry, he’s driven, he’s a great human being, and all he wants to do is to see his teammates have success,” said Mario Cristobal, in his fourth season coaching his alma mater. “And that’s what we witnessed tonight.”

Chambliss completed two passes to get Ole Miss to the Miami 35 with 6 seconds left, but his heave to the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.

The sixth-seeded Rebels lost their coach before the playoff, but not their cool.

If anything, Lane Kiffin’s decision to bolt for LSU seemed to harden Ole Miss’ resolve, pushing the Rebels to the best season in school history — and within a game of their first national championship game.

Ole Miss took the lead on Lucas Caneiro’s fourth field goal, from 21 yards, and seemed poised to continue its improbable run with Chambliss’ TD pass to Wright.

The Rebels couldn’t hold back the Hurricanes on their final drive, but what a run it was.

With Pete Golding calling the shots after being promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach, and most of the assistants sticking around, the Rebels blew out Tulane to open the playoff and took down mighty Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals.

They faced a different kind of storm in the Hurricanes.

Miami has rekindled memories of its 2001 national championship team behind a defense that went from porous to nearly impenetrable in its first season under coordinator Corey Hetherman.

The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Ole Miss to minus-1 yard.

One play revved up the Rebels and their rowdy fans.

Kewan Lacy, the nation’s third-leading rusher, burst through a hole up the middle for a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter — the longest run allowed by Miami’s defense since 2018.

The Hurricanes seemed content to grind away at the Rebels in small chunks offensively, setting up CharMar Brown’s 4-yard touchdown run and a field goal.

Miami unlocked the deep game just before halftime, taking advantage of a busted coverage for a 52-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Keelan Marion.

SCORING SUMMARY




QTR
TIME
SCORE
(V-H)
TEAM
SCORING PLAY
DRIVE






1st
06:22
3-0
Miami
Carter Davis 38 yd FG
13-44
(07:21)



2nd
14:50
3-7
Ole Miss
Kewan Lacy 73 yd rush (Lucas Carneiro kick)
2-80
(00:34)



2nd
07:09
10-7
Miami
CharMar Brown 4 yd rush (Carter Davis kick)
15-75
(07:41)



2nd
04:38
10-10
Ole Miss
Lucas Carneiro 42 yd FG
7-51
(02:31)



2nd
02:18
17-10
Miami
Keelan Marion 52 yd pass from Carson Beck (Carter Davis kick)
5-75
(02:20)



2nd
00:11
17-13
Ole Miss
Lucas Carneiro 58 yd FG
8-29
(00:44)



3rd
00:22
17-16
Ole Miss
Lucas Carneiro 54 yd FG
9-49
(02:57)



4th
07:00
17-19
Ole Miss
Lucas Carneiro 21 yd FG
14-86
(05:19)



4th
05:04
24-19
Miami
Malachi Toney 36 yd pass from Carson Beck (Carter Davis kick)
4-75
(01:56)



4th
03:13
24-27
Ole Miss
Dae’Quan Wright 24 yd pass from Trinidad Chambliss (Caleb Odom pass from Trinidad Chambliss)
6-75
(01:51)



4th
00:18
31-27
Miami
Carson Beck 3 yd rush (Carter Davis kick)
15-75
(02:55)



MIAMI STARTERS




POS.
NO.
OFFENSE






WR
0
Keelan Marion



WR
10
Malachi Toney



QB
11
Carson Beck



RB
4
Mark Fletcher Jr.



OL
52
James Brockermeyer



OL
61
Francis Mauigoa



WR
7
CJ Daniels



OL
70
Markel Bell



OL
73
Anez Cooper



OL
78
Matthew McCoy



TE
87
Alex Bauman




POS.
NO.
DEFENSE







DB
0
Keionte Scott



LB
1
Mohamed Toure



DB
24
Ethan O’Connor



DL
3
Akheem Mesidor



LB
31
Wesley Bissainthe



DL
4
Rueben Bain Jr.



DL
5
Justin Scott



CB
6
Xavier Lucas



S
7
Zechariah Poyser



DB
8
Jakobe Thomas



DL
99
Ahmad Moten

MIAMI RESERVES

1 – Joshisa Trader, 10 – Raul Aguirre, Jr., 11 – David Blay, 12 – Marquise Lightfoot, 13 – Bryce Fitzgerald, 16 – Jaboree Antoine, 18 – Armondov Blount, 22 – Cameron Pruitt, 23 – Dylan Day, 25 – Chris Wheatley-Humphrey, 3 – Joshua Moore, 32 – Kamal Bonner, 36 – Nick Kelly, 38 – Carter Davis, 41 – Chase Smith, 46 – Adam Booker, 54 – Ezekiel Marcelin, Jr., 6 – CharMar Brown, 62 – Tommy Kinsler IV, 63 – Samson Okunlola, 65 – Seuseu Alofaituli, 76 – Ryan Rodriguez, 88 – Luka Gilbert, 9 – Elija Lofton, 94 – Dylan Joyce.

OLE MISS STARTERS




POS.
NO.
OFFENSE






WR
1
De’Zhaun Stribling



WR
19
Cayden Lee



WR
2
Harrison Wallace III



RB
5
Kewan Lacy



OL
50
Jayden Williams



OL
51
Delano Townsend



QB
6
Trinidad Chambliss



OL
61
Diego Pounds



OL
62
Brycen Sanders



OL
75
Patrick Kutas



TE
8
Dae’Quan Wright





POS.
NO.
DEFENSE






S
14
Kapena Gushiken



S
16
Wydett Williams Jr.



CB
2
Jaylon Braxton



CB
32
Chris Graves Jr.



LB
4
Suntarine Perkins



LB
44
Andrew Jones



DE
5
Kam Franklin



DT
51
Zxavian Harris



DT
52
Will Echoles



LB
6
TJ Dottery



CB
8
Antonio Kite


OLE MISS RESERVES

1 – Princewill Umanmielen, 11 – Deuce Alexander, 12 – Damien Taylor, 15 – Da’Shawn Womack, 15 – Izaiah Hartrup, 17 – Winston Watkins, 17 – Lucas Carneiro, 20 – Anthony Robinson III, 21 – Tavoy Feagin, 22 – Logan Diggs, 24 – Andy Jaffe, 26 – Tahj Chambers, 29 – Nick Cull, 3 – Sage Ryan, 30 – Jaden Yates, 31 – Ladarian Clardy, 33 – Oscar Bird, 38 – Tyler Banks, 4 – Caleb Odom, 41 – John Ross Ashley, 43 – Isreal Solomon, 45 – Talib Graham, 65 – Connor Howes, 7 – TJ Banks, 73 – Percy Lewis, 77 – Ethan Fields, 85 – Trace Bruckler, 87 – Wyatt Smalley, 88 – Devin Price, 9 – Luke Hasz, 9 – Ricky Fletcher, 90 – Jeffery Rush, 93 – Carter Short, 95 – Andrew Maddox, 96 – Jamarious Brown.