Miami vs. Ohio State CFP takeaways: Hurricanes stun Buckeyes — and cement status as contender
By Chris Vannini, Matt Baker and Cameron Teague Robinson
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Twenty-three years after Ohio State knocked off defending national champion Miami in one of college football’s all-time classics, the Hurricanes pulled off the feat against the Buckeyes, finally announcing themselves as back in the top tier of college football.
Miami beat Ohio State 24-14 in Wednesday’s Cotton Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff semifinal. On the backs of an efficient performance by Carson Beck and a defensive touchdown, the Canes became the first team to shut out the Buckeyes in the first half in eight years, then held off an OSU comeback attempt over the final two quarters.
The 10th-seeded Hurricanes (12-2) — who earned the last at-large bid into the Playoff field by moving ahead of Notre Dame on selection Sunday — advance to the Fiesta Bowl, where they’ll face either No. 3 Georgia or No. 6 Ole Miss on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz., for a spot in the national championship.
Miami hasn’t been to the title game since losing to Ohio State in the championship in January 2003, but in beating the Buckeyes (12-2), it looked the part of a team that could win it all this January.
The first quarter was all Miami, with a 110-9 edge in total yards. Only a red zone fumble and time kept the Hurricanes off the board. A Carson Beck touchdown pass to Mark Fletcher Jr. put Miami on the board first early in the second quarter.
Three plays after going up 7-0, Miami cornerback Keionte Scott jumped an Ohio State bubble screen pass, intercepting it in stride and taking it back 72 yards untouched for a 14-0 lead, sending Michael Irvin and Canes fans into a frenzy.
MIAMI PICK-SIX ON JULIAN SAYIN 😱 pic.twitter.com/L4EOq0KAiB
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 1, 2026
The rest of the first half was evenly played, and Miami took that lead into halftime, as Ohio State missed a 49-yard field goal in the final seconds of the half.
But the Buckeyes’ offensive momentum picked up, as it took the first drive of the second half 81 yards, ending with a Bo Jackson touchdown run to cut the deficit to 14-7.
Miami responded, and when faced with a similar 49-yard field goal attempt, Carter Davis made his, pushing the Canes’ lead to 17-7. It was a big kick one game after Davis missed three attempts at a windy Texas A&M in the first round. It also made Miami the first team to score 17 points against the Buckeyes this season.
But Ohio State’s offense continued to find its rhythm, going on a 75-yard drive, capped by a Julian Sayin touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith on a fourth down to cut Miami’s lead to 17-14.
It marked three consecutive big drives for the Ohio State offense, and when the Buckeyes got the ball back with 10:16 to play, it seemed they were poised to take the lead, especially when Sayin found Smith on a third-and-15 conversion. But the Miami defense found its footing again, drawing a holding penalty and forcing the Buckeyes to punt.
Beck, Fletcher (90 yards) and the Miami offense then orchestrated a 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to essentially ice the game, with CharMar Brown’s 5-yard run putting the Hurricanes up by 10 with just 55 seconds to go. Two plays later, Jakobe Thomas intercepted Sayin, and the celebration could really begin.
MIAMI PICKS OFF JULIAN SAYIN TO SECURE THE CFP DUB‼️ pic.twitter.com/yPy4tTQATb
— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2026
A 9.5-point underdog entering the game, Miami’s win marked the biggest upset in the 12-year history of the CFP.
What this win means for Miami
It’s always been a running joke to say “The U is back,” but a win over the defending national champion, fueled by defense and physicality, is the truest sign yet that coach Mario Cristobal has finally built the Miami team he always wanted. Last year’s team lit up the scoreboard with Cam Ward but couldn’t get stops when needed. This year’s team was built in the trenches, and when it mattered most, the Hurricanes were the better team up front.
The Hurricanes will head to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8, facing Georgia or Ole Miss. If the Bulldogs win Thursday’s Sugar Bowl, it sets up a matchup between Beck and his former team, Georgia. — Chris Vannini
Beck deserves more credit
Beck has been a lightning rod for criticism dating back to his time at Georgia, for reasons ranging from his sports car to his body language to his disastrous turnovers. Wednesday’s performance showed why the Hurricanes spent much of their time here talking about how he’s misunderstood.
His throws weren’t eye-popping, but he looked like an experienced quarterback who has played in and won big games. In the first half, he set a Cotton Bowl record with 13 consecutive completions. He stepped up in the pocket, taking only one first-half sack, and was content to take the easy completions that kept possessions moving. One of them was a second-and-8 conversion in the second quarter when Miami was pinned inside its 15. That pass helped flip the field thanks to a booming punt.
Being efficient and avoiding mistakes doesn’t fuel highlight reels. It wins games. And Beck is now 36-5 as a starter heading into the semifinal. — Matt Baker
Miami’s defense is title-worthy
The Hurricanes dominated Ohio State’s offensive line for most of the game. Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor combined for three sacks through the first three quarters after combining for 4 1/2 in the opening round at Texas A&M. It wasn’t just that duo; on one first-half play, two other Hurricanes had shots at sacking Sayin before Mesidor brought him down. Marquise Lightfoot also had an early sack, and Ohio State had minus-3 rushing yards in the first half.
The Buckeyes offense eventually started clicking late in the second quarter and into the second half. But Miami allowed only 3 points at Texas A&M and held Ohio State’s top-20 scoring offense to 14 points through the first 47 minutes. If the Hurricanes can continue to pressure opposing quarterbacks as they did early on, this team is capable of winning it all in its home stadium. — Baker
Ohio State waited too long to make adjustments
The Ohio State offense looked completely lost in the first half. It had 154 total yards at halftime but no rushing attack (minus-3 rushing yards) and no confidence in a passing attack that couldn’t block Miami’s defensive line at all.
Led by coach Ryan Day, who took over play calling coming into the game, the Buckeyes couldn’t solve a Miami defense that was flying around the field. Then they went to halftime, and Day finally made some changes.
He moved Ian Moore to left tackle, in place of Austin Siereveld, and Josh Padilla to right guard, in place of Gabe VanSickle. Ohio State responded with an 82-yard touchdown drive after halftime and another 75-yard touchdown drive after that.
But the problem with digging a 14-0 hole at halftime was Ohio State’s offense had to come out and be nearly perfect to win. It wasn’t.
On Ohio State’s third drive of the half, trailing 17-14, it converted a third-and-15 but then committed a holding penalty that backed it up and had to punt. By the time it got the football again, only 55 seconds were left and the game was effectively over.
Ohio State is going to be disappointed by the result of its season. It was 12-0 and then lost its last two games. Both losses came because OSU took too long to adjust on the offensive end, and that is on Day.
Day, who deserves some benefit of the doubt after winning a national championship last season, is the offensive mastermind of this program. He took over play calling because he didn’t want offensive coordinator Brian Hartline to be distracted while also preparing to be the head coach at South Florida. If that’s the case, Day has to be better at adjusting and helping an offense that Miami shut down for the first 15 minutes.
Often, that doesn’t cost Ohio State, but against a team that has as much talent as Miami, it did. Ohio State can only wonder what would’ve happened had it made some adjustments earlier. — Cameron Teague Robinson
