From the Couch Sports

Fiesta Bowl

#10 Miami 31 #6 Ole Miss 27

Both teams worked their way into this semi-final matchup by taking down some of the best teams in the nation in the Playoff. Miami beat Texas A&M in the First Round and took down the defending national champion, Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. Ole Miss won a home game against Tulane in the First Round and won their rematch with Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Turns out Ole Miss could get the job done without Lane Kiffin at the helm. Their offense had been dynamic in both playoff games, QB Trinidad Chambliss and RB Kewan Lacy lead the way with excellent performances.

Miami won their two playoff games with their suffocating defense, lead by star defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. The Hurricane offense struggled offensively in those two games but were able to play just well enough to keep pressure on the A&M offense and the Ohio State offense.

Something had to give in this matchup. A great Ole Miss offense against an elite Miami defense.

Ole Miss came into this game with a school-record 13 wins, Miami was sitting at 12-2. To make the storyline better, Miami hadn’t played in the Fiesta Bowl since January 3, 2003. A day that has lived in Miami Hurricane infamy. According to most people around the program, they believe they were robbed of a sixth National Championship when a late flag kept the Ohio State offense on the field. Ohio State won the game 31-24, took home the National Title, and Miami hasn’t been the same since. In fact, this is the closest they have been to the title since that day. BUT, that was in Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, the Fiesta Bowl has been played in Glendale at State Farm Stadium since 2007. In a new stadium, in a different part of the greater Phoenix area, the 2026 Fiesta Bowl would be a new beginning for the Canes.

The game started with a strong defensive showing by the Hurricanes, a quick three and out. The Hurricanes answered by grinding out a long drive that ended with a field goal. Miami bled 7:21 off the clock, the start of what would be a pattern for Miami’s offense. Long, grueling drives.

After the teams traded punts, the Ole Miss offense struck gold with one of their signature big plays. RB Kewan Lacy ran right through the heart of the Miami defense for a 73-yard TD run. He would tweaked his hamstring during the run and wouldn’t return until the second half but Ole Miss had the lead.

Again Miami would respond. They marched down the field in 15 plays, they melted the clock again with a 7-plus minute drive, this time it ended in a touchdown. The Hurricanes used short runs and quick passes to wear out the defense.

Ole Miss tied the game shortly after with a field goal. Then the Hurricanes would strike with a huge play, Carson Beck dropped back to pass and found a wide open Keelan Marion, and I mean he was WIDE OPEN. An easy walk-in 52-yard touchdown. Miami took a 17-10 lead that would be trimmed down to a four point advantage after Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro nailed an NFL-range 58-yard field goal just before halftime.

The first half was a great, entertaining battle. Miami had some long drives and took advantage of the drives that ended in nothing for Ole Miss. Ole Miss had the big run by Kewan Lacy, two field goal drives, and a little bit of luck thanks to Miami’s defense being unable to catch interceptions. Dropped interceptions by Miami would reappear in the second half as well.

Miami opened the second half with a rare missed field goal and Ole Miss did the same. After hitting the 58-yarder at the end of the first half, Carneiro DOINKED a 51-yard field goal off the upright.

The Hurricanes drove right back down the field, melting more time and pulling off their third drive of over seven minutes. Sadly, it ended when a Carson beck pass was deflected at the line and Ole Miss picked him off in the red-zone.

Chambliss lead the Ole Miss offense down the field again, the Rebels got another bit of luck when the Canes dropped another interception. The Rebels would trim the Hurricane lead to one-point after Carniero connected on a 54-yard field goal. He DOINKED it off the upright again, but this time it bounced through the uprights and in. It appeared luck was on their side.

Ole Miss forced another scoreless drive and took advantage by driving down the field 86-yards. Miami was stricken with two personal foul penalties, the Rebels gifted 30 extra yards. Ole Miss was unable to score a touchdown in the red-zone but did add a field goal to take their first lead since the second quarter.

The Canes were back on the move, the first play of their subsequent drive resulted in an Ole Miss pass interference. A few plays later, Miami X-factor Malachi Toney took a quick screen 36-yards in exciting fashion for game-changing touchdown. Toney had been relatively quiet before that but came up huge with that touchdown.

5:04 left. Ole Miss ball. Trinidad Chambliss “legacy” drive. A quick hitting 21-yard pass started the drive, then on 3rd & 8, he escaped the pocket and ran for 19-yards and a massive first down. Two plays later he threw a touchdown pass to Dae’Quan Wright. Ole Miss had regained the lead in less than two minutes and converted a two-point conversion to take a 27-24 lead. Miami hadn’t allowed more 27 or more points in one game all season.

It was now Carson Beck’s turn for a “legacy” drive. Miami’s drive would see a few 3rd down conversions, one was helped by a facemask penalty. Beck and the Canes connected on a few short passes but on 3rd & 10 Beck would come through. He was pressured but delivered a perfect 17-yard strike down the middle to get the ball in the red-zone. The Canes got closer and closer to pay-dirt as time dwindled away. On 2nd & goal from the Ole Miss 3-yard line Beck dropped back to pass, he patiently waited for a receiver to get open but moved around in the pocket and escaped out the left side to scamper in the end-zone untouched. A huge moment for the veteran QB and a huge moment for the Miami Hurricanes.

They had a 31-27 lead with just 18-seconds left.

Ole Miss wouldn’t go down without a fight. Chambliss threw a 23-yard pass quickly, he spiked the ball and threw another great pass down the middle for 17-yards. The Rebels would have one last chance from the Miami 35 with 6-seconds left.

Chambliss took the snap, escaped to his left and heaved one towards the back pylon, the pass fell just out of the out-stretched hand of his intended target, De-Zhaun Stribling. Stribling wanted a flag for holding but there was too enough mutual contact and the refs didn’t budge.

The game was over. This EPIC showdown had seen its conclusion. This was truly an all-time classic with an ending that saw 25-points scored in the final quarter.

Both quarterbacks were phenomenal. Carson Beck threw for 268 and two scores but his unlikely scrambles made the difference. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 277 yards and was helped by four dropped INT’s by the Miami defense. Both QB’s went 23/37.

Miami RB Mark Fletcher ran for 133 yards, his second 100-yard performance in the Playoffs. Kewan Lacy added 103 yards rushing for Ole Miss.

Miami’s defense only sacked Chambliss one time but they did enough to aid the Canes on their journey back to the National Title, a game they haven’t played in since 2003 when they lost that Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State.

The Hurricanes will play the winner of Oregon/Indiana January 19th on their home turf of Hard Rock Stadium.

Peach Bowl

#1 Indiana 56 #5 Oregon 22

Two Big 10 foes matching up in Atlanta for a spot in the National Title Game. Neither team has won the title, plenty to play for in this rematch in Atlanta.

In October these two teams met in Eugene, OR. Indiana won 30-20 but it wasn’t a pretty game, for either team. The high-flying Oregon offense was held to under 300 total yards, QB Dante Moore was sacked 6 times, and he threw two interceptions. Indiana’s offense wasn’t great either, gaining just 326 yards but they took advantage of the Oregon turnovers and escaped Autzen Stadium with one of their biggest wins in school history.

That would be the only game Oregon would lose all season. Indiana would go on to finish the season undefeated, they pretty much blew out every team on their schedule, with one close call against Penn State. Indiana won an epic battle against Ohio State in the Big 10 Title Game and QB Fernando Mendoza went on to win the Heisman.

Oregon’s path to the Peach Bowl started with a home win in the First Round against James Madison and a 23-0 shutout against Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl. Meanwhile, Indiana embarrassed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl.

Just before this highly anticipated rematch there were reports of massive amounts of Indiana fans who made the trip to Atlanta to support the program and those reports were validated when play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough commented the Mercedes-Benz Georgia dome was filled with about 80% Hoosier fans.

I guess you could say Oregon had the home-field advantage in October and Indiana would have the home-field in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl.

Indiana kicked off to start the game and immediately raced down the field, Freshman DB Byron Baldwin Jr. laid a hit stick on the return man as the game started off with a literal bang.

Things didn’t get any better for Oregon on the next play. First offensive play of the game, Dante Moore dropped back and threw one right to a defender in the fkat who took it back 25-yards for the pick-six.

Not an ideal start for a team looking to exact their revenge on a team that beat them on their home turf just a few months ago.

Oregon would be kicked down, but they got back up quickly on the next drive. Well, it took them over 7 minutes but Date Moore lead the Oregon offense down the field and tied the game with a touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson. The Ducks were down, but not for long. A huge response.

On came Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. In typical Mendoza fashion, he made accurate passes, great decisions and the Indiana offense showed that they would not be bested by Oregon’s great offensive drive. They took the lead again, this time up 14-7. After that score, it was all Hoosiers.

Yes I know the game was barely in the second quarter, but Indiana never let Oregon get any closer. After an Oregon punt, Indiana was forced to punt too after Mendoza lost a ton of yards on a bizarre sack. Oregon had the ball back deep in their own territory and as Moore went to throw the football, his running back ran the play-action mesh too close to his throwing arm. Moore fumbled and Indiana recovered the ball at the Oregon 3-yard line. The Hoosiers punched in a quick touchdown a few plays later.

Oregon punted again, then Indiana struck quickly with a 36-yard touchdown pass. Oregon fumbled again on a strip sack, then Mendoza threw another touchdown pass.

With the score at 35-7, Oregon drove down the field late in the second quarter. The Ducks attempted a 56-yard field goal but it fell short.

35-7 Indiana at the half. Oregon couldn’t take care of the ball, Indiana took advantage of those turnovers. It was as simple as that. A simple, basic dominant half for Indiana.

The Hoosiers started the second half with the ball. Mendoza picked apart the Oregon secondary. On 3rd & 7 he dropped back to pass and escaped up the the middle of teh pocket. He scrambled for the first down but was careless with the football, he fumbled but the ball bounced the right way, into the hands of an Indiana offensive lineman, Indiana quickly recovered.

Guess what, a few plays later Mendoza threw another touchdown pass. That score pretty much sealed it.

Oregon had no answer for the near perfect Indiana offense.

The Ducks next drive started with a huge 71-yard run, the Ducks cored a touchdown after that but it was too little too late. They barely mustered up any offense after that. Mendoza kept slinging the rock, Indiana kept scoring and late in the fourth quarter they had a 56-15 lead. Oregon finished the game with a garbage time touchdown to put the game at 56-22 but even of there were two more quarters, they would’ve never caught up to the big lead Indiana had given themselves.

Indiana’s offense took advantage of incompetent quarterback play, turnovers, and an inconsistent running game by the Oregon offense. Plus, Indiana’s offense couldn’t be stopped.

Fernando Mendoza ended the game 17/20 with 177 passing yards and 5 touchdowns. His stat-line in the two playoff games: 31/36 369 yards passing and 8 passing TD’s. Near perfect. That’s how you win games, efficient QB play.

This has been one of the most incredible two playoff games by a single team in CFP history and I’m going to say you can pencil in this 2025 Indiana team as one of the best teams in the history of the sport.

Indiana will play Miami on January 19th for all the marbles.

One team is looking to be “back” (The U) and the other team is trying to win their first football national title ever and complete one of the greatest rags to riches stories in sports history.

Takeaways:

• Miami’s defense has been blitzing and getting after the QB all season, they barely got to Chambliss, but made life difficult enough for him. He was forced into some quick decisions which should’ve resulted in multiple interceptions. Miami’s defense will have to pressure Mendoza and catch interception attempts if they want a chance to beat Indiana.
• The Miami offense is predictable but can be effective when they wear down the opposing defense by running Mark Fletcher and co.
• Carson Beck wasn’t perfect but showed up in big moments for the Canes against Ole Miss. His scrambling lead Miami to the win.
• Fernando Mendoza throws a pretty ball. Short, intermediate, or deep, the dude can fit it in the perfect spot. His receivers help him tremendously by pulling off insane catches in man-to-man coverage.