Canes Rewind: A Look Back at the Win over Ole Miss
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Each week this season, we’ll take a look at the game that was for the Hurricanes.
Here are some key storylines, numbers of note and quotes from No. 10 Miami’s 31-27 win over No. 6 Mississippi in a College Football Playoff semifinal game at the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium.
With the win, Miami improved to 13-2 and advanced to the College Football Playoff National Championship, where it will face No. 1 Indiana. The Hoosiers advanced with a 56-22 win over No. 5 Oregon.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, finished its season 13-2.
The Recap
With their upset win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve, the Hurricanes extended their playoff run, extended their season, and earned a berth in the Fiesta Bowl.
Waiting for them in Arizona was an Ole Miss team that put together an upset itself, rallying from a nine-point deficit to beat powerhouse Georgia and, like Miami, put itself one win away from the CFP championship game.
It was a high stakes matchup, and both the Hurricanes and Rebels delivered their share of big plays and hard hits – particularly in a thrilling fourth quarter where Miami and Ole Miss combined for 25 points and saw the lead change four times.
And when the game started, it was Miami that struck first.
After forcing a three-and-out on Ole Miss’ opening possession, the Hurricanes capped a 13-play, 44-yard drive with a 38-yard field goal from Carter Davis.
But it was Ole Miss that scored the game’s first touchdown – and created the first lead change of the game.
On the first play of the second quarter, Rebels running back Kewan Lacy burst through Miami’s defensive front on a rush up the middle and sprinted to the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown to give Ole Miss a 7-3 lead after the extra point.
Miami answered and regained the lead after Marty Brown scored on a 4-yard touchdown run that capped a 15-play, 75-yard drive that took 7:09 off the clock.
Then Ole Miss countered, tying the game on one of Lucas Carneiro’s four field goals – this one from 42 yards out.
Miami took the lead again with a big play of its own when quarterback Carson Beck connected with Keelan Marion on a 52-yard scoring pass, but then Ole Miss cut the margin to 17-13 after Carneiro’s second field goal, a 58-yarder.
In the second half, Carneiro gave the Rebels the lead after hitting field goals from 54 and 21 yards out while Miami’s offense sputtered in the third quarter.
Then, with 7:00 left, the fireworks started.
With the Hurricanes down 19-17, four of Miami’s biggest offensive playmakers – Beck, CJ Daniels, Mark Fletcher Jr. and Malachi Toney – engineered a quick scoring drive that ended when Toney caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Beck.
On that drive, Miami needed just four plays and 1:56 to regain the lead, before Ole Miss – again – quickly answered.
The Rebels needed just six plays to go 75 yards and scored when quarterback Trinidad Chambliss tossed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dae’Quan Wright that gave Ole Miss a 27-24 lead with 3:13 left.
But the Hurricanes said later, there was no panic on their sideline.
Instead, veterans Beck and Marion made it clear Miami would score again – and win.
The player-led huddle proved more than prophetic.
The Hurricanes drove down the length of the field, converting four third downs in the process, and set themselves up inside the Ole Miss 10-yard line with 31 seconds left.
And on a 2nd-and-goal from the 3, Beck – not seeing any of his receivers open – scrambled into the end zone to put Miami ahead, 31-27, after the extra point.
Chambliss and the Rebels, though, still had enough time for a handful of plays and they did their best to take advantage, driving down to Miami’s 35-yard line for the chance at one last-gasp shot at the end zone.
But Chambliss’ pass fell incomplete and the Hurricanes’ celebration began.
Now, they’re headed back to Miami with the chance to play for the national championship on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium.
It’s an opportunity head coach Mario Cristobal said was a result of the team’s resilience, not just against the Rebels, but over the course of the last two months since they fought their way into the playoff field after losing two mid-season games.
“I think it’s the simplicity of these guys. They know exactly who they are, and they know what it took to get us to this point and they were not settling for getting to this point just to get here,” Cristobal said. “[Going] 1-0 was the objective. They weren’t going to let anything get in the way. So, all they did was do what they do every single day on the Greentree Practice Field and did it to an elite level to finish the game. Again, I can’t speak more highly or proudly enough of them and their resilience.”
Numbers of Note
459 – Total offensive yards for the Hurricanes, who held the ball for more than 41 minutes in the win over Ole Miss and averaged 5.2 yards per play against the Rebels.
8 – Hurricanes who caught at least one pass from Beck in the win over Ole Miss. Marion led the way with seven catches for 114 yards. Beck, meanwhile, completed 23 of 37 passes and threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns.
395 – Rushing yards totaled by Fletcher during the Hurricanes’ three playoff games. The junior had a game-high 133 yards against the Rebels after posting a career-high 172 yards against Texas A&M and 90 rushing yards against Ohio State.
11 – Third down conversions for the Hurricanes, who had 19 opportunities on that crucial down. Miami also converted on both of its fourth-down conversion chances.
5 – Tackles for Jakobe Thomas, who also broke up two passes, and earned defensive MVP honors in the win.
Quotable
“Extremely excited. We always talked about this. The fact that we just took it game by game, worried about just that 1-0 … but the fact that we have the opportunity to go back home, just truly blessed.”
– Running back Mark Fletcher Jr., on having the opportunity to play for a national title in Miami
“Man, what an unbelievable year. It was never easy. It was never perfect. There were a lot of ups and downs. There was a lot of adversity that not only I faced individually, but that we faced as a team. We really banded together and showed that we believe in connection; that we just don’t fake it. This team is really a family. If our team really wasn’t like that, I don’t know if this win happens tonight. We really band together, we believed in each other, and we never flinch in the face of adversity.
– Quarterback Carson Beck, on his decision to come to Miami
“He was always a super special person throughout the recruiting process. He became the heart and soul of this team. An unbelievable family. He is a reflection of his family on a daily basis and what he brings to the table. I don’t know where you start. The reason you want to be a coach is you want to be able to somehow be around such elite human beings like this.”
– Head coach Mario Cristobal, on running back Mark Fletcher Jr.
“It was just like everyone counted us out. I told everyone in the locker room the day after the SMU game, we can’t lose faith. We’ve got to keep going. We can’t lose faith. We got in the huddle, they scored, we’ve got three minutes left. I told everybody in the huddle, ‘We’ve got three minutes left for our lives. … Lay everything on the line. Three minutes of our lives right here to take it back home.’ You saw what happened.”
– Wide receiver Keelan Marion, on his message to the Miami offense before the Hurricanes’ final drive
“It’s been a roller coaster. When Mario first came to Miami, he came to Miami Central and I knew he really wanted me. That’s what you have to do to build great culture. You have to go get the players to build that culture and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. That’s what we did, and we put the work in. We put the work in and now we’re going to the national championship. That goes to show you you can do anything you put your mind to. You just have to keep at it and keep working.”
– Linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, on his Miami career
What’s Next
The Hurricanes now advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship, which is set to be played Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami will face Indiana, which enters the game with a perfect 15-0 record after a dominant 56-22 semifinal win over Oregon.
Indiana is led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, a Miami native who completed 17 of 20 passes and threw for 177 yards and five touchdowns against the Ducks.
Indiana receiver Elijah Sarratt had seven catches for a game-high 75 yards and two touchdowns, while Hoosiers running back Kaelon Black had 12 carries for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
After Indiana took a 14-7 lead in the first quarter, the Hoosiers broke the game open in the second when they scored 21 unanswered points before half. They’d go on to win the game despite being outgained by Oregon 378-362.
