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01/08 23:09 CST Miami heading home for shot at national title after beating Ole
Miss 31-27 in Fiesta Bowl
Miami heading home for shot at national title after beating Ole Miss 31-27 in
Fiesta Bowl
By JOHN MARSHALL
AP Sports Writer
GLENDALE, Ariz. (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.
___
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