{"id":503390,"date":"2026-01-09T09:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T09:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/503390\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T09:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T09:18:11","slug":"miami-edges-ole-miss-in-fiesta-bowl-first-national-championship-game-in-23-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/503390\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami edges Ole Miss in Fiesta Bowl: First national championship game in 23 years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>GLENDALE, Ariz. &#8212; No. 10 seed Miami is headed home to play for a national championship after continuing its unlikely postseason run with a thrilling 31-27 win over No. 6 seed Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.  <\/p>\n<p>The Hurricanes will face either No. 1 seed Indiana or No. 5 seed Oregon on Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium as they chase their first national title since the 2001 season.  <\/p>\n<p>After sneaking into the 12-team College Football Playoff as the final at-large team, Miami delivered its third straight gritty postseason victory over a higher-seeded opponent. This one required even more late-game heroics, as quarterback Carson Beck engineered a game-winning drive over the final 3:13.  <\/p>\n<p>Beck capped the march with a 3-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds remaining. It was his first rushing touchdown since a Week 3 win over South Florida and it capped off a 15-play, 75-yard drive that will live in Miami lore.  <\/p>\n<p>Miami overcame 10 penalties and a costly interception to win a game it largely controlled but never fully put away. The Hurricanes held the ball for 23 more minutes than Ole Miss but struggled to shake a persistent Rebels team.  <\/p>\n<p>Ole Miss briefly seized the lead when quarterback Trinidad Chambliss connected with Dae&#8217;Quan Wright for a 24-yard touchdown with 3:13 remaining. The Rebels, however, left too much time for Beck and a Miami offense that finally wore them down when it mattered most.  <\/p>\n<p>Ole Miss still had one final opportunity, driving to Miami&#8217;s 35-yard line in the closing seconds. Chambliss&#8217; last pass fell incomplete in the back of the end zone as time expired.  <\/p>\n<p>Freshman Malachi Toney also made his mark. He turned a short flat route into a 36-yard touchdown with 5:04 remaining to give Miami a 24-19 lead. Toney finished with five catches for 81 yards. Keenan Marion added seven receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown, matching a career high in catches.  <\/p>\n<p>Beck finished 23 of 37 for 268 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.  <\/p>\n<p>  By the numbers\u00a0  <\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"TeamLogo-image\" alt=\"team logo\" src=\"https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/fly\/images\/team-logos\/687.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>      Miami  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Advanced to the CFP National Championship Game for the first time in school history \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Will play in the 2026 CFP National Championship Game on Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>First team in the BCS\/CFP era (1998-present) to play a national championship game in its home stadium \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Hard Rock Stadium has been Miami&#8217;s home venue since 2008 \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Set a school record with 13 wins \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Seeking its sixth national championship (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2001) \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>First Fiesta Bowl win in school history (previously 0-4) \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Lowest-seeded team (No. 10) to reach the CFP National Championship Game \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Second ACC program to reach the CFP title game, joining Clemson (four appearances) \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Won against an AP-ranked opponent in each of its last four games \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Recorded seven AP-ranked wins this season, most in school history \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Won five straight games vs. SEC opponents, including a 3-0 mark this season \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>First national championship game appearance since the 2002 season (loss to Ohio State) \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>  Carson Beck, QB  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>23-for-37 passing for 268 yards, two touchdowns and one interception \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Added the game-winning 3-yard rushing touchdown \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Logged his eighth career fourth-quarter comeback as a starter \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Game-winning rushing TD was his second of the season and first since Week 3 vs. South Florida \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Threw a career-high 29 touchdown passes this season, tied for second-most in school history \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Career record of 37-5 as an FBS starter, including 16-3 vs. AP-ranked teams \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Fifth quarterback in FBS history to win at least 36 games over a three-year span \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>First QB since Marcus Mariota (2012-14) to reach that mark \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Tied with Matt Leinart for second-most wins (37) over a three-year span \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Tied for second-most wins vs. AP-ranked teams since 2010 \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Took a season-high four sacks \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>  Mark Fletcher Jr., RB    Malachi Toney, WR  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Five receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Finished the season with 99 receptions, most in Miami history \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Set the ACC freshman record for receptions \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> Miami: Fiesta Bowl History     \t<\/p>\n<tr>SeasonOpponentResult<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2025<\/td>\n<td>Ole Miss<\/td>\n<td>W 31-27<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2002<\/td>\n<td>Ohio State<\/td>\n<td>L, 31-24 (2 OT)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1993<\/td>\n<td>Arizona<\/td>\n<td>L, 29-0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1986<\/td>\n<td>Penn State<\/td>\n<td>L, 14-10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1984<\/td>\n<td>UCLA<\/td>\n<td>L, 39-37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<p>Most QB Wins vs. AP-Ranked Teams Since 2010   <\/p>\n<tr>QuarterbackWins<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Jalen Hurts<\/td>\n<td>17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Carson Beck<\/td>\n<td>16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kevin Hogan<\/td>\n<td>16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Baker Mayfield<\/td>\n<td>15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<p>Most QB Wins Over a Three-Year Span (FBS)<\/p>\n<p>Excludes overlapping streaks<\/p>\n<tr>QuarterbackYearsWins<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kellen Moore<\/td>\n<td>2009-11<\/td>\n<td>38<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Carson Beck<\/td>\n<td>2023-25<\/td>\n<td>37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Matt Leinart<\/td>\n<td>2003-05<\/td>\n<td>37<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Marcus Mariota<\/td>\n<td>2012-14<\/td>\n<td>36<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>AJ McCarron<\/td>\n<td>2011-13<\/td>\n<td>36<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"TeamLogo-image\" alt=\"team logo\" src=\"https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/fly\/images\/team-logos\/701.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>      Ole Miss  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Seven-game winning streak snapped \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Eight-game streak of scoring at least 30 points ended, previously the longest active streak in FBS \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Pete Golding suffered his first loss as an FBS head coach (2-1) \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>  Trinidad Chambliss, QB    Kewan Lacy, RB  <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>The SEC will not be represented in the national championship game for the third straight season \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>That follows eight consecutive appearances by SEC teams, including six national titles \t\t \t\t<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GLENDALE, Ariz. &#8212; No. 10 seed Miami is headed home to play for a national championship after continuing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":503391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[225723,225722,1428,1361,86516,225716,106506,225718,225721,225720,225717,1716,225719,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-503390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-cfb-title-game","9":"tag-cfp-title-game","10":"tag-college-football","11":"tag-college-football-playoff","12":"tag-fiesta-bowl","13":"tag-fiesta-bowl-score","14":"tag-miami-fla-hurricanes","15":"tag-miami-vs-ole-miss-score","16":"tag-national-championship-teams","17":"tag-national-title-teams","18":"tag-ole-miss-national-titles","19":"tag-ole-miss-rebels","20":"tag-ole-miss-vs-miami-score","21":"tag-sports","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115864397824285361","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}