Miami players emptied onto the field. Some running in circles not knowing what to do. Others jumping and dancing. The national championship is one win away.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — When Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss' heave into the corner of the end zone at State Farm Stadium disappeared with four sets of hands reaching for the ball, the Hurricanes sideline froze.
For a second, no one knew what happened. Was it caught? Who caught it? Did it sail over everyone's hands and it hit the ground?
Is this game finally over?
Finally, as the stadium started buzzing, the official gave the incomplete signal and that sideline exploded.
Players emptied onto the field. Some running in circles not knowing that to do. Others jumping and dancing. Miami coach Mario Cristobal looked for his Ole Miss counterpart, Pete Golding, for a handshake that certainly had both coaching expressing nothing but respect for the other.
The Miami Hurricanes season has one more stop. And it's in a very familiar spot.
The last team into the College Football Playoffs has bullied its way through the first three rounds, winning by depending on a smothering defense and efficient offense.
After an instant-classic 31-27 victory over Ole Miss that was decided by quarterback Carson Beck dropping back to pass with 18 seconds to play but being forced to scramble for a 3-yard touchdown, all that stands between the 10th seeded Hurricanes (13-2) and a sixth national championship is either top seed Indiana or No. 5 Oregon.
And Miami's magical run means it will be the first team in the CFP era to play for the title in their home stadium with the game scheduled for Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium.
"Amazing," linebacker Wesley Bissainthe said amidst the chaotic celebration. "The University of Miami playing for the national championship in Miami. No words."
Carson Beck comes up big in biggest moment of the season
That scene in State Farm stadium was something this program has been missing for more than two decades. Gold confetti rained down on the stage as Cristobal thrust a gold football into the air after marveling at the size and weight of Fiesta Bowl trophy, players flashed 'The U' to the Miami fans.
Miami relied on that defense and deliberate, efficient offense while disposing of Texas A&M in the first round and defending champion Ohio State in the quarterfinals.
But in the Fiesta Bowl, against an explosive Ole Miss quarterback led by Trinidad Chambliss, the defense finally bent, and the offense was called upon to bail it out.
After Chambliss found a wide open Dae'Quan Wright for a 24-yard go-ahead score with 3:13 to play, making the score 27-24, for the first time Miami had to put the ball in the hands of Beck to win a playoff game.
" Kind of looked at the guys on the sideline and said: Man, this is what we workedfor. This is what we live for. This is why you play the game of football. This is why you come to the University of Miami is for moments like this; to play in these big games, to have these big moments," Beck said. "Are we going to respond or are we not? What are we going to do?
"And I think just looking at the look in everybody's eyes, I kind of felt what was about to go happen."
Beck has been proficient when asked to manage the game, but always with the lead. The Hurricanes never trailed against Texas A&M and Ohio State.
This would be the first time he was asked to win a game on the final drive since failing in the two losses to Louisville and SMU.
And with Beck, it can be feast of famine. The Georgia transfer, who led the SEC in interceptions in 2024, had six in the three-week span in which Miami lost its two games.
Since, he had one entering the semifinal before his first of the postseason came late in the third quarter and led to an Ole Miss field goal.
But this was Beck showing his experience and poise under pressure. A 15-yard facemask penalty on Ole Miss; clutch 17-yard completion to Keelan Marion on third-and 10 from the Ole Miss 35; another completion to Marion, this one for 11 yards; and Miami was 8 yards from the end zone with half a minute to play.
On second down, Beck dropped back, could not find an open receiver, started to the right and saw a lane to his left.
Once got through, nothing stood between him and end zone.
Beck crossed the goal line with 18 seconds to play and Miami then had to survive the Rebels' final desperate attempt.
"I think it's more a reflection of our players and their DNA and the way that they're wired, how they came into the program and how they've continued to develop and evolve," Cristobal said about the game-winning drive. "So it almost seems like the tougher it gets, the better we play. And it's a testament to them, to their resilience, and their will."
Hurricanes have leaning heavily on defense, RB Mark Fletcher
The Hurricanes had found the perfect formula for their postseason run, leaning of a defense and a grind 'em out offense featuring bruising running back Mark Fletcher.
And that worked early against Ole Miss. Miami dominated time of possession, holding the ball for more than 41 minutes, as Fletcher ran for 133 yards on 22 attempts.
The defense, though, started to show cracks when Kewan Lacy burst through the line for a 73 yard touchdown on the first play of second quarter after the Rebels had minus-1 yard of total offense in the first quarter. Miami trailed for the first time in the postseason, 7-3.
The run was the longest surrendered by Miami since the 2018 season.
Miami then did all it could to hand this game to Ole Miss. The defense dropped four chances for interceptions and the team that did not commit a penalty against Ohio State had 10 against Ole Miss, including a crucial pass interference late in the fourth quarter that kept the Rebels go-ahead drive alive.
But it survived, and now Miami has a chance to do something the program has done three times, win a national championship on its home field. It would join the 1981 team that beat Nebraska, 1987 team that beat Oklahoma and 1991 team that beat Nebraska.
"We made a promise to each other that we were going to get to this point," safety Jakobe Thomas said. "And I just know that me, personally, it's go time. Seriously now, this is the dream, and it's at home. So it is what it is, and we're coming."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Hurricanes will play for national championship on home field
Category: General Sports
