Miami Tops Ohio State in Cotton Bowl; Faces Ole Miss in CFP Fiesta Bowl Semifinal

The Miami Hurricanes (12-2) got the better of the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2) in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on New Year’s Eve. With the win, Miami advances to the CFP semifinals, where they will take on No. 6 Ole Miss (13-1). The Rebels earned their spot in the semifinals with a 39-34 win over No. 3 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

With three first-team All-Americans starting on defense, a Heisman finalist quarterback in Julian Sayin and All-American wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State was considered a significant favorite going into the game. Those closest to the Miami program had the highest respect for the defending national champion Buckeyes, but there was no doubt in their minds — after watching dominant road wins at Pitt and Texas A&M — that the Hurricanes could go toe-to-toe with any team and have a good chance of coming out on top.

Scottish poet Robert Burns’ “Auld Lang Syne” is traditionally sung to bid farewell to the old year. It opens with the rhetorical question, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?” After Miami’s 24-14 win over Ohio State — a game in which the Canes were better on offense, defense and special teams — it will only be the Hurricanes with fond remembrances of the last night of 2025. The Buckeyes will be left with regret and a lot of “woulda, coulda, shoulda.”

After the game, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said, “We just stuck to the plan. That’s why I love those guys and what they stand for, you know? When they say they’re getting ready to get back to work and get onto the next one, it’s what they are. That’s their DNA. But that’s the way we’ve been working to hard-wire our team, and probably the most important thing. We have a long way to go, but we are getting better in really good chunks and really good increments. So, certainly looking forward to doing it again.”

In the first half, Miami quarterback Carson Beck set a Cotton Bowl record with 13 consecutive completions (13-for-13, 82 yards, one touchdown). The touchdown was a 9-yard completion to running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and capped a 13-play, 83-yard scoring drive that took 8:04 — the longest allowed by time of possession by Ohio State this season. Beck also tied the all-time College Football Playoff record for consecutive completions.

On the Buckeyes’ ensuing drive from their 25, Sayin hit Smith for a 59-yard gain to the Miami 16. On first-and-10, Sayin was sacked for a 6-yard loss by Rueben Bain Jr. On second down, an ill-advised Sayin pass was snatched on the run by Miami cornerback Keionte Scott, who took it 72 yards for a score and a 14-0 Hurricanes halftime lead. While being shut out for the first 30 minutes, Ohio State was held to minus-3 rushing yards.

The Buckeyes took the second-half kickoff and showed there were two dogs in this fight. Two runs by RB Bo Jackson for a first down, a Sayin completion and a Jackson 18-yard rush gave OSU a first down at the Miami 45. Another Sayin-to-Smith completion made it first-and-10 at the UM 26. Two plays later it was first-and-goal at the Miami 8. On third down, Jackson ran it in from the 1-yard line and it was 14-7 after the 11-play, 82-yard drive.

The Canes didn’t blink. Beck led a 9-play, 43-yard drive and Miami kicker Carter Davis finished it with a 49-yard field goal for a 17-7 lead.

Ohio State began its next possession with 3:01 left in the third quarter. The Buckeyes managed three first downs and had first-and-10 at the Miami 22 when the clock hit 0:00. Three plays later, Sayin completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Smith and it was 17-14 with 13:28 remaining.

It was game on. Miami could only gain 14 yards against a stiffening Buckeyes defense and punted to the OSU 25 with 10:22 left. The Buckeyes made two first downs, including a Sayin-to-Smith 16-yard completion on third-and-15. OSU was on its own 48 with 7:32 left. An incompletion, a holding penalty and a 2-yard loss left a fourth-and-22 from their own 36 and a punt back to Miami with 6:04 remaining.

The Canes opened with a 16-yard run by Fletcher. Two runs and a 5-yard pass to CharMar “Marty” Brown earned Miami a new set of downs at the OSU 39 with 3:06 to go. Brown ran for 13, then 1 yard before the 2:00 timeout. On second-and-9, Brown rushed for 5 to the 20, forcing an OSU timeout at 1:53. On third-and-4, a 13-yard pass from Beck to wideout CJ Daniels gave Miami a first-and-goal at the OSU 7 with 1:46 left.

Brown rushed for 2 yards and, with 0:55 remaining, ran it in for a touchdown and a 24-14 lead. The Buckeyes made no attempt to stop Brown, as their only realistic chance to win was to score quickly, recover an onside kick and score again. It was not to be. Sayin threw an incompletion, followed by an interception by Canes safety Jakobe Thomas. Beck took a knee and it was over. Miami had won the Cotton Bowl Championship.

Miami’s Mark Fletcher Jr. (19 carries for 90 yards and four receptions for 25 yards and a touchdown) was named Outstanding Offensive Player. Keionte Scott (four tackles and a 72-yard interception return for a touchdown) was honored as Outstanding Defensive Player. Miami won the turnover battle 2-1.

With the win, Miami finished the season 6-0 against AP-ranked teams — the most victories over ranked teams this season. The Canes had five sacks against Ohio State. In the Dec. 20 win over Texas A&M, they had seven. Freshman Malachi Toney became the seventh Hurricane with 1,000 receiving yards in a season with 1,008. Fletcher became the 11th Cane to reach the 2,000-yard career rushing milestone with 2,068.

Next up is a trip to Arizona and the Fiesta Bowl, where Miami faces Ole Miss on Thursday, January 8 at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN). The Canes have a tough task against the Rebels. Led by QB Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss plays a very fast and explosive offensive style. RB Kewan Lacy has carried the load for the Rebels with 1,464 rushing yards this season.

Miami reached this semifinal with defense and a strong running game. Ole Miss allows 146 rushing yards per game — the worst run defense of all the teams that advanced out of the quarterfinals in the College Football Playoff field. Miami will need success on the ground to control the clock and keep Chambliss off the field as much as possible. Chambliss has thrown for 3,660 yards with 21 touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 66 percent of his passes. He has also rushed for 520 yards and eight touchdowns. He is undoubtedly the best quarterback Miami will have faced this season. What makes him especially difficult to defend is that half his passes come from drop-back and half from play-action.

As difficult a challenge as Ole Miss presents, winning the game comes down to what it does in every game: controlling the line of scrimmage, avoiding turnovers and penalties, running the ball consistently, staying out of third-and-long and keeping drives going with third-down success. The defense will need to rotate more players than usual, as the Rebels run plays every 23.5 seconds when they have the ball. It will be a challenge.

Here at Canes Corner, I see a Hurricane team that is in the right place and keeps getting better. With the carrot of playing a CFP final on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium right in front of their eyes, I strongly believe Miami will find a way to advance and play another day.

That’s it for now. Be well, all — and Go Canes!