As is tradition at Miami games, Hurricanes legend Michael Irvin was in attendance on the sidelines for Wednesday’s Cotton Bowl against Ohio State. He was, of course, in great spirits following The U’s victory over the Buckeyes – and celebrated accordingly.
Irvin did his “BTA” celebration after Miami put the finishing touches on its 24-14 victory. The win sent the Hurricanes to the CFP quarterfinals, where they will take on the winner of Georgia vs. Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl.
Afterward, Michael Irvin went to the Miami faithful to bask it all in amid the trophy presentation. He also did his “BTA” celebration, swinging a belt at a Gatorade cooler.
It was all Miami in the first half of Wednesday’s College Football playoff quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl. The Hurricanes went up 14-0 at halftime as the defense shined. Ohio State totaled -3 rush yards through two quarters, and Miami notably got a pick-six from Keionte Scott after he jumped the route on a screen pass.
However, Ohio State made a strong statement to start the third quarter. The Buckeyes marched down the field on an 11-play, 82-yard drive capped by a Bo Jackson touchdown to get on the board. Then, they rolled the dice on fourth down and scored when Julian Sayin found Jeremiah Smith for the score, cutting the Miami lead to 17-14.
But Miami stayed the course, leaning on a stout defense that made life difficult for Sayin and the Ohio State offense. The Hurricanes eventually forced a punt, which gave them the ball back with 5:53 to play. That gave Carson Beck and the offense a chance to run down the clock, and the drive ended with a rushing touchdown from CharMar Brown to make it a 24-14 ballgame with less than a minute to go.
From there, Sayin went back out to try and make something happen. But he threw his second interception of the game, which meant Miami sealed the win in the Cotton Bowl and punched its ticket to the Fiesta Bowl for the College Football Playoff semifinal.
The ground game led the charge for Miami in Wednesday’s game. Mark Fletcher Jr. had 90 of the Hurricanes’ 153 rush yards while Beck went 19 of 26 for 138 yards and a touchdown while making some big plays of his own. Fletcher caught Beck’s touchdown pass to help get things underway at AT&T Stadium and start Miami’s quest for a semifinal bid.