The U Is Back In the National Championship

Both Miami and Ole Miss entered the College Football semifinals full of confidence. Miami had suffocated two teams already in the playoffs. With the departure of Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss seemingly had their own Varsity Blues rallying moment and has played inspired playoff football. Someone’s run had to end in the Arizona desert. It came down to the final play of the game. But as the ball fell innocently to the State Farm Stadium turf, it became official: The U is back. A 31-27 thrilling Fiesta Bowl win for Miami granted the Canes an opportunity to play for a national championship in their home stadium.

The U Is Back

First Quarter Looked Like Same Miami Script

Coming into the Fiesta Bowl, it was a match-up of strength vs. strength. The Ole Miss hype speed electric offense had to find answers against a Miami defense that no one has figured out in two playoff games. Round one went to Miami. The Canes’ defense picked up where it left off against Ohio State, and Ole Miss couldn’t do anything. They only ran six plays for -1 yard of offense in the first quarter. Additionally, Miami was able to control the ball offensively, further limiting the Ole Miss offense. Mario Crisotbal’s team was getting settled into the same game they had played two times in the playoffs. But then the game shifted aggressively early in the second quarter.

Canes’ Composure Began To Crack

On the second play of the second quarter, Kewan Lacy found a seam and exploded for a 73-yard touchdown run. However, Lacy would injure his hamstring. He would not carry the ball until the fourth quarter. This play seemed to be the moment when the pucker factor showed up for the first time for the Canes. Although the next drive wouldn’t be indicative of it. Miami responded on the ensuing drive with a methodical, 15-play touchdown drive that took 7:41 off the clock. At that point in the game, Miami had a time of possession advantage of more than 16 minutes when the score was 10-7. The time of possession edge would only grow throughout the game. But when Ole Miss took the field, they counterpunched with their own field goal drive. The teams would combine for 27 points in the second quarter.

However, Miami left so many opportunities on the field. Untimely penalties killed some of the drives. A sack on their last drive of the first half allowed Ole Miss to use its timeouts to force a punt. They would get a field goal as a result. But the most glaring opportunities missed were all of the interceptions the Canes couldn’t secure. Two of them appeared to have been what would have turned into an easy pick-six. With Trinidad Chambliss making uncharacteristic decisions, Miami let those chances to end Ole Miss drives fumble out of their hands.

Another Cristobal Collapse Was Loading

Miami was dominating in the trenches when running the ball all game. They would finish the game with 191 yards. And yet, Miami would see the success and try to get too cute with the play call. It appeared that Miami could have run Duo or a basic dive play down the field all game. But both teams stalled out offensively in the third quarter with missed field goals. In many ways, the third quarter was a copy of the first quarter. But the college football drama sorcerers dialed up some magic in the fourth quarter. After a punt to start the fourth quarter, the teams traded scoring drives until a Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete to end the game.

With Miami up 24-19 with 5:04 left in the game, it set up perfectly for Chambliss to have a signature moment. It certainly was aided by another penalty on a critical third down when the ball was at midfield, extending the drive. Miami finished the game with 10 penalties for 74 yards. Chambliss then scrambled for 20 yards on the ensuing first down play. He followed that up with an absolute strike for the go-ahead touchdown with 3:13 left. It took only six plays and less than two minutes to retake the lead.

It’s Official: The U Is Back Thanks To Beck

Remember that time of possession figure that was growing all game? Miami had four drives of at least 13 plays in the game. None of them was greater than the last time Carson Beck took the field. He would orchestrate a 15-play drive that would culminate with him scrambling into the endzone with just 18 seconds left. As he crossed the goal line, the elation that left his body echoed, “The U is Back.” Chambliss tried his hardest to one-up Beck. He was able to get Ole Miss 45 yards down the field in just 13 seconds. But the moment under the confetti was meant for Beck, Cristobal, and the Canes. Miami will now have a chance to call themselves national champions for the first time in 25 years as they await the winner of the Peach Bowl between Indiana and Oregon.