Miami beat Ole Miss 31-27 in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on January 8, 2026, on a three-yard Carson Beck touchdown run with 18 seconds left. The Hurricanes controlled the game almost completely and still needed a scramble in the final minute to survive it.

A game Miami dominated and nearly lost

The possession numbers tell one story. Through three quarters, Miami had held the ball for 33 minutes and 50 seconds to Ole Miss's 11:10. The Hurricanes converted 13 of 21 attempts on third or fourth down. The Rebels went 2 for 10.

The scoreboard told a different one, because Miami kept handing the game back. The Hurricanes dropped at least four catchable interceptions, threw one of their own deep in Rebels territory, missed a field goal, and took 10 penalties for 74 yards against Ole Miss's four for 34. Given repeated extra life, Ole Miss kept taking it.

The fourth quarter

Four lead changes came in the final period. Lucas Carneiro put Ole Miss ahead with his fourth field goal of the night — the same kicker who had won the Sugar Bowl a week earlier and who made kicks from 55, 56 and 58 yards across the two Playoff games. Trinidad Chambliss then hit Dae'Quan Wright from 24 yards out for another Rebels lead.

Beck answered with a drive built on four third-down conversions. On the last of them he found no one open, saw a lane, and ran three yards for the touchdown with 18 seconds on the clock.

Ole Miss still had a chance. Chambliss completed passes of 23 and 17 yards to reach the 35 with six seconds left, enough for one throw at the end zone. There was contact on the final play and no flag. Miami held on.

How the Hurricanes got here

Miami's Playoff run was the strangest of the bracket. The Hurricanes did not play in the ACC Championship Game and were a contested at-large selection. They then won three straight as an underdog: 10-3 over Texas A&M in the first round, 24-14 over defending champion Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, and this one.

Across the first two rounds, Miami held Texas A&M and Ohio State to 17 combined points. That defense, under first-year coordinator Corey Hetherman, was the reason a No. 10 seed reached a national championship.

Beck, and the price of a quarterback

When Carson Beck left the NFL Draft process to transfer from Georgia to Miami, the reaction was mixed and the reported NIL figure was substantial. The Fiesta Bowl was the argument settled. He finished 23 of 37 for 268 yards and two touchdown passes, plus the winning run.

Freshman receiver Malachi Toney drew coverage all night and finished the season past 1,000 receiving yards. Keelan Marion led all receivers with seven catches for 114 yards and a touchdown, including a 52-yard score before halftime on a busted coverage. Mark Fletcher Jr. averaged six yards a carry.

What it set up

The win sent Miami to Hard Rock Stadium — its own building — for the national championship against Indiana, the first time a team had played for a title at home. The Hurricanes lost 27-21 to finish 13-3.

For Ole Miss, the Fiesta Bowl closed a season that included a first Playoff semifinal appearance and a Sugar Bowl win over Georgia. Losing it on a quarterback scramble, after a game in which they held the ball for barely a third of regulation, was a cruel way to find the ceiling.