Carson Beck’s 3-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds remaining provided the winning points for Miami’s 31-27 College Football Playoff semifinal comeback win over Ole Miss in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night in Glendale, Ariz.
The Hurricanes (13-2) capped a 15-play, 75-yard drive to secure their first opportunity to play for a national championship since 2002. Miami, which has won five national championships, is seeking its first since 2001.
Miami, the No. 10 seed, won the Fiesta Bowl for the first time in five all-time appearances, and will also get to host when it faces either No. 5-seed Oregon or top-seed Indiana on Jan. 19th at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Ole Miss (13-2), the No. 6 seed, which persevered to reach the CFP semifinals despite its coach Lane Kiffin departing to become LSU’s coach in November, put together a go-ahead touchdown drive when quarterback Trinidad Chambliss connected with Dae’Quan Wright for a 24-yard touchdown. The Rebels added the two-point conversion when Chambliss found Caleb Odom in the back of the end zone.
But Beck, who completed 23 of 37 passes for 268 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, engineered Miami’s third scoring drive of 13 or more plays.
The Hurricanes took a 24-19 lead with 5:04 left when Malachi Toney caught a bubble screen, broke a tackle and sped his way to the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown.
The lead changed four times in the final seven minutes of the game after Lucas Carneiro’s fourth field goal from 21 yards put Ole Miss ahead 19-17.
After holding Ole Miss to minus-1 yard in the first quarter, Kewan Lacy broke through Miami’s defensive line and scored from 73 yards out to give the Rebels a 7-3 lead.
Lacy left the game due to a right hamstring issue, but he returned on the Rebels’ first drive of the second half. He finished with 103 yards on 11 carries.
The Hurricanes committed 10 costly penalties for 74 yards and Ole Miss sacked Beck four times while Miami’s prolific pass rush, which accumulated 46 sacks entering the game, only sacked Chambliss once.
Chambliss completed 23 of 37 passes for 277 yards, one touchdown pass and no interceptions.
