The 2026 Fiesta Bowl was one for the books, with endings usually only seen in movies. For the Miami Hurricanes, it was one of excitement and the chance to bring a National Championship back to the Sunshine State for the first time in 25 years.
The game started out rocky for the Hurricanes, with little mistakes piling up, like missed picks and presnap penalties. This game put the Rebels and the Hurricanes in a back-and-forth for every point scored by the Hurricanes; Ole Miss responded faster and better with a lively offense, keeping every fan on the edge of their seats.
“Honestly, football isn’t complicated; people are. When you start jumping offsides and you get some of these pre-snap penalties, you complicate things for yourself,” Mario Cristobal said.
Spearheading this operation was transfer quarterback Carson Beck. Almost a year ago, he decided Miami was the place for him, but tonight, with questionable throws to his offensive men, it seemed that Ole Miss was going to run away with the win and punch a ticket to the National Championship.
It just kept getting louder in State Farm Stadium.
A deep throw downfield by Beck was nabbed by Keelan Marion with a total of a 52-yard receiving touchdown to put Miami ahead by seven going into the half. One last 58-yard field goal by Ole Miss, to put another three on the board, but suddenly, the air inside the stadium became a lot stuffier for the Rebels, while the Hurricane nation breathed a sigh of relief in the first half.
As the third quarter zoomed by, it was like the Miami defense the nation had come to know left the building and was replaced with some other guys. The Ole Miss offense began to detect patterns, and the Miami offense was sniffed out by the opposing defense with no hesitation to jump quickly.
In the fourth quarter, the score began as 17-19 with Ole Miss leading and even with 15 minutes of play left, it seemed to break a new sound barrier inside the stadium as the Rebels were holding onto the lead just barely, but with the Miami defense that seemed to fall off, it had the chance of actually happening.
Seven minutes left in the game, Miami scored a driving touchdown from true freshman Malachi Toney, who went for 81 receiving yards, one return and an average of 5.5 rushing yards per play.
The score became 24-19, and the clock continued ticking as Ole Miss kept moving the chains down the field and scored a touchdown to respond after two false starts and a targeting call. The simple mistakes allowed the Rebels to just walk to the endzone.
But with just 24 seconds left of play and a three-yard rush, Carson Beck scores the final touchdown that sends the Hurricanes ahead by four points. It was like lightning on the field, the speed at which the Rebels were moving, hoping for the chance to launch the ball downfield to outscore Miami in the final seconds.
“Man, this is what we worked for. This is what we live for. This is why you play the game of football. This is why you come to the
University of Miami is for moments like this,” Carson Beck said.
After using the final timeout, just six seconds remained on the clock and with one final spiral of the ball from quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, the clock struck zero, and the score on the board stands 31-27.
The Miami Hurricanes are returning to the National Championship for the first time since 2003, with a fresh batch of players leading the charge there is hope and grit within this team. The opponents that will face off against Miami won’t be determined until Friday night.
As the confetti rained down throughout State Farm Stadium, the Rebels walked away heads held low as the season had come to an end, in what some call a good game of football until the last seconds, the Hurricanes are back to work tomorrow in preparations for playing at “home” January 19.
