Miami is playing for its first national title in over two decades after taking down Ole Miss 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night. Here are the five plays that stood out in the No. 10 Hurricanes’ College Football Playoff semifinal win over the No. 6 Rebels.
Kewan Lacy’s 73-yard TD run
The star Ole Miss running back put the Rebels up 7-3 on the first play of the second quarter with his long TD run.
But that TD came at a cost to Ole Miss. Lacy appeared to suffer a right hamstring injury as he approached the end zone. Replays showed that he appeared to be laboring as he slowed towards the goal line.
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Lacy didn’t play another snap the rest of the quarter and Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said he’d be evaluated at halftime. Lacy returned to the game in the third quarter with a compression sleeve on his right leg. And he served as a decoy for much of the second half.
Ole Miss threw the ball 19 straight times before Lacy got his third carry of the game. He finished with 11 carries for 103 yards and a TD.
Malachi Toney’s 36-yard TD catch
Toney gave Miami a 24-19 lead with 5:04 to go when he caught a tunnel screen and raced 36 yards for a touchdown.
The freshman wide receiver was targeted 10 times and had five catches for 81 yards. Hardly any of those catches were downfield, either. Tony ended the game with 77 yards after the catch; no other Miami player had more than 30.
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Toney emerged as one of the most dynamic playmakers in college football as a freshman in 2025 and has more than 1,000 receiving yards. He also made an incredible catch that didn’t count later in the game. Had Toney gotten his entire foot down in bounds on this grab, we’d run out of words trying to describe how good it was.
Dae’Quan Wright’s 24-yard TD catch
It took Ole Miss less than two minutes to respond to Toney’s TD. Wright scored on the sixth play of a 75-yard drive to give Ole Miss a one-point lead before Trinidad Chambliss’ two-point pass to Caleb Odom put Ole Miss up 27-24.
Wright found himself wide open on a corner route after the safety was late to follow him to the pylon. It was the third catch of the game for Wright as he finished with 64 yards receiving.
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Carson Beck’s 3-yard TD rush
After Toney’s touchdown came on Miami’s fourth play of a 75-yard drive, the Hurricanes needed a lot more plays to regain the lead. Carson Beck’s t3-yard TD with 18 seconds to go gave Miami a 31-27 lead.
Beck’s run was the 15th play of a drive that took nearly three minutes for the Hurricanes.
Beck attempted 12 passes on that drive as the Hurricanes also benefitted from a facemask penalty on Ole Mis defensive back Jaylon Braxton. He was called for a facemask as Beck threw toward Keelon Marion on the sideline with just under two minutes to go.
The TD was Beck’s first rushing TD since he scored in a Week 3 win over USF. The Georgia transfer finished the game 23-of-37 passing for 268 yards and two touchdowns and an interception while he rushed for minus-6 yards when sacks were taken into account.
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Trinidad Chambliss’ incomplete Hail Mary attempt
Ole Miss’ chances of a comeback were farfetched after Beck’s score. The Rebels had just one timeout remaining but were at midfield with 13 seconds to go.
The Rebels then got to the Miami 35-yard line with six seconds to go before Chambliss heaved a Hail Mary toward the end zone as time expired.
Ole Miss fans understandably wanted pass interference on De’Zhuan Stribling. But it’s important to note that pass interference is hardly called on Hail Mary attempts. And a penalty would not have guaranteed Ole Miss a legit chance at the win.
If officials threw a flag on the play, the Rebels would simply have had an untimed down from the 20-yard line. Sure, it’s easier to score from the 20 than it is the 35-yard line, but it’s still a low-percentage play. Miami would have likely won the game even with a penalty. But did the penalty prevent Stribling from catching the pass? He was able to tip the ball as it fell incomplete.
