ARLINGTON, Texas — No. 10 Miami stunned No. 2 Ohio State 24-14 in the Cotton Bowl on Wednesday night to pull their second straight upset and advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Hurricanes await the winner of Georgia-Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Hurricanes needed a few late plays to put the game away and the offense came through. Quarterback Carson Beck found CharMar Brown for a conversion on third-and-3 to keep the game going, and then hit CJ Daniels for a conversion on third-and-4 in the red zone to set up a game-sealing touchdown run from Brown.
Miami’s defense dominated the first half as star defensive line duo Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain combined for three sacks. Until the final drive of the half, Ohio State did not have a drive longer than five plays. Defensive back Keionte Scott had one of the plays of the game, picking off Sayin and returning it 72 yards for a touchdown to hand Ohio State its biggest deficit since 2022.
However, the Buckeyes fought back behind the electric Jeremiah Smith. The sophomore had a critical 14-yard touchdown on fourth-and-2 to give the Buckeyes a chance late, but a holding call stymied another drive. Ohio State had one last chance to get back into the game, but Jacoby Thomas intercepted a Sayin pass to end the game.
Beck threw for 138 yards and rushed for 23 yards in a clutch effort. Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. posted 90 yards rushing, 25 yards receiving and a touchdown. Sayin threw for 287 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the loss.
Ohio State became the fifth straight team with a first-round bye to lose since the College Football Playoff moved to 12 teams. Miami now moves on to the semifinals for the first time in program history.