The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Ole Miss Rebels College Football Playoff Semifinal 2025 Edition

THE MIAMI HURRICANES WON THEIR FIRST-EVER FIESTA BOWL, DEFEATING THE #6 SEEDED OLE MISS REBELS 31-27, AND HAVE ADVANCED TO THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Craig T. Smith is back with your game recap, and Mike Schiffman has your 3 stars:

Let’s get into this edition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:

The Good

• A win! Winning is hard, and I’m never taking it for granted. IDC IDC IDC.
• THE PLAYOFF RUN CONTINUES!!!!!!!
• THE MIAMI HURRICANES ARE PLAYING IN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Exorcising some demons. Miami had been 0/4 previously in the Fiesta Bowl, including the absolute robbery in the 2002 National Championship Game. Miami has now won every New Year’s 6 bowl game!
• I don’t know where to put this, so I’m putting this up top: this is the kind of game Miami has lost for 20 years. Dominated the metrics. Had a 3-to-1 time of possession advantage. Led for most of the night. But things slipped away and they were down late, thanks to poor performance, penalties, not getting turnovers in the myriad instances they could have, and turning the ball over on the ONE PLAY possible. How many times had we seen Jacory Harris or Stephen Morris or Brad Kaaya or Tyler Van Dyke have the ball late in a game with a chance to win….only to lose? More than I can count. So having the fortitude, mental and otherwise, to get behind in a game we’d been largely dominating, then walk down the field to score to take the lead and eventually win the game is INCREDIBLE stuff, the kind of stuff we haven’t seen in many games at all in the last quarter century, let along the BIGGEST GAME of that time. Truly, truly incredible stuff by everyone. I’m floored, in the best way possible.
  
• QB Carson Beck. 23/37 passing (62.2% completions) for 268 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT, and 12 carries for -1 yard and the game-winning touchdown.
• Say what you want about Beck, but he’s been worth every reported penny we paid him, and more. His steady leadership and stellar play has led Miami to their first National Championship Game in 23 years. To this point of the season, what more could you want?!
• In the biggest moment of the year, with the season and a trip to the National Championship on the line, Carson Beck made himself a Miami Hurricanes legend.

• RB Mark Fletcher Jr. 22 carries for 113 yards.
• Fletcher Jr. and others were fighting the flu that I guess they picked up in Arizona per HC Mario Cristobal. So we got a multiple player #FluGame en route to the win! HELL YEAH!!!
• WR Keelan Marion. A MASSIVE game from him: 7 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.
• Marion had 2 catches and drew a facemask penalty to convert 3rd downs today. Massive.
• WR Malachi Toney. 5 catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, and 2 carries for 11 yards. More big plays from one of Miami’s best players.
• RB Marty Brown. 14 carries for 54 yards and touchdown, and 2 catches for 7 yards.
• S Jakobe Thomas. 5 tackles and 2 PBUs.
• LB Mo Toure, CB Xavier Lucas, S Zechariah Poyser, and DL Akheem Mesidor all had 4 tackles.
• Toure had the only TFL and sack of the night for Miami
• P Dylan Joyce. 3 punts with a 48 ypp average and a long of 51.
• True freshman CB Jaboree Antoine. A blue chip recruit in the 2025 recruiting class, Antoine had seen little action on defense until the playoffs. He stepped in at corner after Lucas’s ejection and played well. Yes, get got called for a pass interference penalty on Ole Miss’s final scoring drive, but had some really good coverage outside of that play. He wasn’t perfect, but he was good, showed his skills and potential, and stepped up BIG in a big moment in the biggest game of his life, and the season. Kudos to you, kid!
• Miami forced a 3 and out on Ole Miss’s first possession. Huge stand vs the run, and with pressure on 3rd down to get off the field.
• Miami opened the scoring with a 38 yard FG from Carter Davis. Good to see him in the groove again after that tough day at Texas A&M.

• Oh hey. Miami forced a 3 and out on Ole Miss’s second possession, too! THIS IS GOOD!!!!

• Miami regained the lead on a 4 yard touchdown run by Marty Brown.

• Ole Miss had a coverage bust and Miami took advantage. Beck up top to Keelan Marion for a 52 yard touchdown to take the lead!

• WR Malachi Toney continues to write history with the best freshman season in Miami history. This 36 yard TD gave Miami a lead in the 4th quarter

• QB Carson Beck scrambled for a touchdown to give Miami the lead with 18 seconds left!

• 459 yards of offense — 3rd most allowed by Ole Miss this season
• 268 yards passing
• 191 yards rushing
• 5.2 yards per play
• 3.7 yards per rush
• 11.7 yards per completion
• 12 chunk plays — 5 passes (15+), 7 runs (10+)
• 11/19 on 3rd down
• 2/2 on 4th down
• 28 first downs
• 41:22 time of possession
• 88 to 60 offensive snap advantage
• 6 QB hurries
• 6 PBUs
• Held Ole Miss to 398 yards of offense — 2nd fewest total of the season
• Held Ole Miss to 122 yards rushing — 5th lowest total of the season
• Held Ole Miss to 2/10 on 3rd down — 2nd lowest number of conversions, and rate of the season
• Held Ole Miss to 1/1 red zone scoring. The key here: they only got into the red zone once in 11 offensive drives.
• The advanced stats chart tells the story of a Miami win, and that’s what matters!

The Bad

• Miami had Toney open for a touchdown on the first drive, but there was a miscommunication with Beck, who threw outside but Toney was open inside. Incomplete and a chance to score gone by the wayside.

• Beck called for intentional grounding on a flea flicker where Ole Miss got pressure. I learned a new rule: you can’t hand the ball off or lateral it and be eligible to throw the ball away. So, since Beck handed it to Fletcher and got the ball back, what would normally have been a smart throw away was intentional grounding. That sucks.
• Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss. That kid is a baller. 23/37 passing for 277 yards and a touchdown, and 5 carries for 7 yards, including a HUGE scramble on their final touchdown drive. He tested Miami’s limits defensively with his excellence, and though disappointed in the loss, he should hold his head high. Incredible effort and performance.
• Ole Miss RB Kewan Lacy. 11 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown, but most of that came on one 72 yard play. Still, he made that play, so kudos to him.
• And, to be clear, that’s bad for Miami, but good for those players. This is praise; they were both DAMN good.
• Allowed 6.6 yards per play
• Allowed 10 chunk plays — 8 passes (15+), 2 runs (10+)
• Allowed 12 yards per completion
• Allowed 23 first downs
• Allowed 5 TFLs
• Allowed 4 sacks — a season-high
• 3/4 red zone scoring
• Lost the turnover battle 1-0

The Ugly

• All. The. Penalties. 10 for 74. That’s nearly triple the previous total from the CFP….COMBINED!
• This was Miami’s 3rd most penalized game of the year. It trailed only FSU and SMU.
• Seriously though, the penalties. 5 on offense. 5 on defense. Nowhere near good enough. Get back to the drawing board and fix this immediately, if not sooner.
• On the first drive, Miami went with the #MaliCat — Malachi Toney special package — on 3rd and 3 deep inside Ole Miss territory, and it was horrific. Multiple linemen got beat. Miami was pounding Ole Miss in the face in the run game. There was no need to get cute there.

• A hold on Alex Bauman and a false start on Markel Bell on the 2nd drive were Miami’s 1st offensive penalties in a month and killed a promising drive.
• Miami got out-leveraged on the 1st play of the second quarter and Ole Miss scored a 73 yard touchdown run. Horrible. Miami hadn’t allowed a run that long since 2018!

• Penalties, penalties, PENALTIES! Can’t give away yards on defense, and put yourself behind the sticks on offense.
• K Carter Davis missed a 51 yard FG on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter. Just pushed it right. Ugh.
• Miami dropped 3 interceptions: one by Dylan Day just before the final Ole Miss FG in the 1st half, and one by Jakobe Thomas on Ole Miss’s 1st drive of the 2nd half, and Ethan O’Connor and Wesley Bissainthe 2 plays AFTER Thomas’s dropped pick. The last one was juggled around for like 3 seconds between the defenders before it hit the ground. Come ON!

• RG Anez Cooper, a 4 year starter and Captain on this team, with a pair of false starts on a drive. You cannot have that from anyone, much less a 4 year starter and captain. Come ON!
• On a 3rd down deep in Ole Miss territory, Carson Beck’s pass was tipped by the DL and intercepted. That’s the difference: Ole Miss got the turnover on their opportunity, but Miami failed to get one on their numerous chances.
• Miami dropped YET ANOTHER interception 2 plays after their own pick. Comical at this point.

• Miami allowed a season-high 4 sacks
• Miami allowed 5 TFLs
• Xavier Lucas ejected for targeting. I thought that was a bad call as he was already diving low for the thighs of the receiver, and then the receiver ducked into the low hit.
• Lucas will miss the 1st half of the National Championship Game.

Team Grades

Offense: B

I said all week that there were yards and points to be had against Ole Miss’s defense, and the offense proved me right. Miami was dominant in ball control, moving the ball with the run and the pass with equal success.

My thing here is the lack of efficiency from a scoring perspective. Miami left A LOT of points on the field tonight, and it almost cost us. Yes, I’m nitpicking, but these details matter! Stalled drives and empty drives kept this game from being the decisive win that it should have been. Credit to Ole Miss’s defense for being competitive and stepping up, but Miami had so many self-inflicted errors on offense that they’re hard to overlook.

The individual performances from Beck, Fletcher, Brown, Toney, and Marion carried the day, and I love that. Also, the offensive line was very good. BUT, they allowed 5 TFLs and a season-high 4 sacks, and had 3 false start penalties (the holding call was on the TE) so there were enough issues that this grade can’t be any higher than I have it. Good, and in the end good enough to win, but FAR from the optimal level of performance, especially given the fact that Miami held the ball for nearly 3/4 of the game.

Defense: B

When you take into account the team we faced and the offense they field, this grade gets bumped up from B to B+. Degree of difficulty and the moment matter, so I’m grading on a SLIGHT curve.

Ole Miss did well to get the ball out of QB Chambliss’s hands quickly and that largely mitigated the uber dominant Miami pass rush. Miami was able to get penetration and pressure on Chambliss, but only got him on the ground once, which again is a credit to his ability and performance.

The part where Miami was truly dominant was in situational, 3rd down defense. Miami held Ole Miss to 2/10 on 3rd down, including 0 for their first 7.

BUT.

Miami allowed 23 first downs for Ole Miss, and 12 chunk plays. They missed run fits on the long Lacy touchdown, and were a step slow or out of position on several other plays. Allowing 27 points when the opposition had the ball for only 18 minutes is CRAZY work, especially for a team as good as Miami. I know our opponent was quality as well, but that wasn’t good enough for me.

I will give lots of credit, however, to Miami’s defense bowing up and holding Ole Miss to several long FG attempts. I’ve long held the maxim “you don’t win games with field goals”, and that was true for Ole Miss tonight. They scored 6 times to Miami’s 5, but with 4 FGs in those 6 scores, that wasn’t enough points to win. Thanks for attending today’s math class.

Seriously though, Miami’s defense played with the hallmarks of the new motto E.S.V. They played with enthusiasm, they swarmed to the ball in most instances, and they played with violence. That is the kind of effort you can be proud of regardless of result, but I’m glad that performance led us to the result we desired!

Special Teams: B

Joyce’s punting was incredible. Davis’s kickoffs were great. And while he nailed his first FG attempt, he badly missed his second, even though the ball was set dead center between the hashes. Luckily, it didn’t cost Miami anything. There were no returns to speak of so that doesn’t impact the grade. And the coverage unit was pretty good, although they were faked out on a punt that bounded into the endzone that they might have had a chance to down inside the 5. So, a solid if imperfect performance.

Coaching: A

Mario Cristobal has the Miami Hurricanes playing in the National Championship Game. Let that sink in. Wow.

Mario Cristobal had this team ready to go, and he managed this game nearly flawlessly. There was the choice to kick an early FG to go up 3-0 instead of running it on 4th and 2, but I understand it. Miami had already gotten a 3-and-out on defense and wanted to affect the scoreboard. But, other than that and maybe 1 timeout that was called in the 2nd half, there were no game management issues. Cristobal led the team well, showed excitement when the time warranted, and cussed out the refs when the situation demanded it. He’s steady, stoic leadership and psychotic focus on winning has permeated this staff, team, program, and school, and that has put Miami on the doorstep of history.

OC Shannon Dawson was in his bag and called a great game. No, every play he called did not work, but he pounded the ball on the ground, set Carson Beck up for timely passes, and got the win. Biggest complaints: the 3rd and 2 MaliCat on the first drive (why go away from the run game with duo that was pounding them?!) and maybe another one. Oh yeah, the failed flea flicker. But, honestly, that’s more about result than process, because Miami has run the flea flicker well and hit every passing option on it all season. Ole Miss just defeated the blocks on that play and killed it before it had a chance to get going. With nearly 45 minutes time of possession, and more points than the opponent, I’d say Dawson did well.

DC Corey Hetherman continues to show himself as an elite coach on the fast track to a head coaching job. Holding the Ole Miss offense to 2/10 on 3rd down?! Insanity. And yes, his defense was out leveraged on the long Lacy touchdown run, and they got beaten by a nice Y-corner tight end passing scheme on Ole Miss’s final scoring drive, but Miami’s defense was stout against the run, got constant pressure on Chambliss, and had their hands on no fewer than 5 interceptions. No, they didn’t catch any of them, but they were in position to make plays on those occasions, and made plays in many others. Enjoy Hetherman while he’s in Coral Gables guys, cuz he won’t be here long.

That’s it for this installment of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Hop in the comments and let me know your thoughts.

Go Canes