Miami outlasts Ole Miss in CFP semi, will play for title at home

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Teams are told to never look ahead. But no one could blame the Miami football team for looking to the future before the season even begins.

The Hurricanes have talked about it, maybe not openly, but certainly privately. Open the season at home against Notre Dame. End the season at home in the national championship game.

What was once a dream is now reality after a thrilling 31-27 victory over Ole Miss Thursday night in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl behind an inspired effort from quarterback Carson Beck and a coach who has made it his relentless mission to restore a proud Miami heritage.

While Mario Cristobal maintained his characteristic intensity after the game, there’s no denying the improbability of the run Miami made to get to this point. After starting at No. 18 in the inaugural CFP rankings on Nov. 3 following an overtime loss to SMU, Miami ended up becoming the last team in the 12-team CFP field and has now earned three playoff wins to become the first team to play for a national championship in its home stadium since the BCS/CFP era began in 1998.

“When I saw everyone running on the field, it was like a dream, like I was waiting for someone to wake me up or something,” said linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, a Miami native who began his career when Cristobal took over the program in 2022. “I’m a Miami guy, so to play in front of my peers, where I’m from? That’s going to mean everything.”

The Hurricanes are no strangers to winning national titles on their home turf: three of their five national titles have been won at the Orange Bowl, their venerable old home field. This includes one in 1991 with Cristobal starting at offensive tackle. For more than two decades, Miami has wandered in the proverbial college football wilderness. It took a coach with Miami DNA to finally bring the Hurricanes to the brink of a sixth national title.

It hasn’t been easy, because nothing about this season has been easy. Miami led most of Thursday’s game, dominating in virtually every category, from time of possession to plays to rushing yards. But a few drives stopped in the third quarter due to penalties or other errors, allowing Ole Miss to get back into the game.

What unfolded was a wild fourth quarter with four lead changes in the final seven minutes. With Miami legends Michael Irvin, Ray Lewis, Gino Torretta, Edgerrin James and others watching from the sidelines, the Hurricanes scored on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Beck to dynamic freshman Malachi Toney with 5:04 remaining to regain a 24-19 lead.

But Trinidad Chambliss got Ole Miss back on the field, helped in part by a pass interference penalty that officials assessed Miami on an incomplete third down — a throwback to the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, when a contested pass interference cost Miami the national title. Chambliss threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dae’Quan Wright with 3:13 left to put the Rebels back in front.

Miami hadn’t trailed this far late in the fourth quarter since a loss to Louisville at home in October, a game in which Beck threw four interceptions. Beck used this game as a turning point in his season, and in that moment against the Rebels, with the game on the line, he refused to lose.

He calmly led a 15-play, 75-yard drive – ending with a 3-yard touchdown run.

“It almost seems like the harder it is, the better we play,” Cristobal said. “And it’s a testament to their resilience and their willpower.”

Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson called what Beck did “an epic story.” A year ago, Beck agreed to a transfer to Miami, due to an elbow injury that kept him out of practice until the start of fall camp.

“He deserved this moment,” Dawson said. “It was up to him to stand up and accept it, and he did. That probably silenced a lot of the critics.”

With Miami in the lead, Lewis looked toward the crowd and raised his arms, pumping up the noisy Miami fans. Once it was all over and the final seconds were up, the alumni celebrated with the players, present and past, all with a common goal. A brotherhood forged through difficult times, like the one Miami persevered with Thursday night.

“It took a long time. Once coach Cristobal got here, we brought back the old ways of Miami,” James said. “To get to the playoffs and then finish in the championship in Miami, there’s nothing better than that. It’s all set for us.”

Since the SMU loss, Miami has won seven straight. But Miami has been on the road for five straight games. After its final regular-season home game against NC State on Nov. 15, safety Keionte Scott reiterated what was discussed in the preseason: “We’re not done with the Hard Rock.”

“We always knew we were special and we knew if they let us in [the playoff]that a lot of teams were going to be in trouble,” Bissainthe said.

Anez Cooper, another player who began his career in Miami when Cristobal was hired, said he cried as the final seconds ticked away: “I’m glad we went home.”