January 8, the University of Miami (UMiami), an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team, faced off against the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team. The teams battled in the semi-finals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for a spot in the next round of the College Football Playoffs (CFP). Fans swarmed in crowds of green, orange, red and blue, filling the stadium to the brim with high anticipation over the semi-final game, known as the Fiesta Bowl. Before the match, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) predicted that UMiami would win by 57.1%, whereas they predicted Ole Miss would win by 42.9%. By the end of the game, the ESPN predictions proved true, as UMiami beat Ole Miss 31-27.
Starting the game, Ole Miss won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff from UMiami. While UMiami did not begin the game receiving the ball, they quickly won it back, placing the first points on the scoreboard. In the sixth minute of the first quarter, place kicker Carter Davis (38) scored a 38-yard field goal, boosting UMiami up 3-0.
Early in the second quarter, Ole Miss produced a 73-yard rushing touchdown from running back Kewan Lacy (5), producing a score of 7-3 with the help of place kicker Lucas Carneiro (17). After a period of silence from both teams due to the lack of forward-moving plays, the Ole Miss touchdown seemed to wake the teams up. The sudden touchdown led UMiami to combat Ole Miss’s touchdown with one of their own, running back CharMar Brown (6). He set up a four-yard run with help from Davis, who, after Brown’s run, completed a field goal, upping the score to 10-7. Carneiro scored a 42-yard field goal near the end of the quarter, which led to a tied game, until UMiami wide receiver Keelan Marion (0) received a 52-yard pass from quarterback Carson Beck (11). To end the second quarter, Ole Miss squeezed in one final major play — with only 11 seconds left on the clock — Carneiro kicked a 58-yard field goal, opting to end the half with a score of 17-13: UMiami in the lead.
“To be up in a fourth and have an opportunity to close it out on that stage, it’s something we’ll look back on and get better from. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this group. They never panicked, they never flinched, they are led by special young men. I can remember looking at them at halftime and just looking into their eyes, and they didn’t panic,” Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding said.
Compared to the second quarter, the third quarter proved unamusing, with only Ole Miss place kicker Carneiro scoring a 54-yard field goal. With another successful Carneiro field goal, Ole Miss moved into the lead for only the second time through the game. Both offenses struggled to find their rhythm, but quickly picked their pace up in the final quarter.
Toward the end of the game, in the fifth minute, UMiami wide receiver Malachi Toney (10) received a 36-yard touchdown pass from Beck, which allowed UMiami to retake the lead with the clock quickly running out of time. A short two minutes later, Ole Miss returned with the help of tight end Dae’Quan Wright (8), and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6), who formed the new score of 24-27. The already tight game only became extra intense, as both teams lay three points away from each other, until UMiami miraculously scored a three-yard run from Beck with only 11 seconds remaining on the clock.
“Going into the season, I didn’t think we would make it as far as we have. I’m not going to lie, I thought we were gonna lose to Ohio earlier in the season. I feel like we have a chance to beat Indiana. If we have Beck just doing what he’s been doing, we’ll be fine. I doubt the leaked Beck snaps will affect his mentality going into the championship at all. If anything, it’ll give him fuel to wanna win,” magnet senior Allen Butler said.
The game ended with UMiami fans praising Beck for his determination throughout the game, surprised at his last-minute run, as this twist seemed unusual for the normally calm gameplay and lack of thrilling moments. A tight game ended in UMiami’s dominance with a score of 31-27. Transitioning out of the Fiesta Bowl with a win, UMiami will move on to the final and face off against Indiana University January 19, at 7:30 P.M. E.T. to decide the 2026 national college football champions.
