Miami heading home for shot at national title after beating Ole Miss 31-27 in Fiesta Bowl

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Miami’s return to relevance was a long, winding road filled with more downs than ups.

Even when the Hurricanes rejoined the national conversation, they were doubted, told they didn’t belong.

Through it all, they kept chugging along — straight into the national championship game.

Carson Beck scrambled for a 3-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left, and Miami will head back home for a shot at its first national title since 2001 after beating Mississippi 31-27 in an exhilarating College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.

“We never flinched,” said Beck, who threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. “In the face of adversity, when we had to respond, we responded.”

The 10th-ranked Hurricanes (13-2) didn’t play in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game and were a somewhat controversial CFP pick – at least outside of South Florida – yet proved they belong.

Miami held Texas A&M and reigning national champion Ohio State to a combined 17 points to reach the CFP semifinals. Then the Hurricanes shut down the high-scoring Rebels (13-2) for three quarters in the desert before pulling it out in a wild fourth.

Malachi Toney, hero of Miami's opening CFP win over Texas A&M, turned a screen pass into a 36-yard touchdown that put the Hurricanes up 24-19.

Trinidad Chambliss, a year removed from winning a Division II title at Ferris State, led the Rebels down the field and found Dae'Quan Wright for a 24-yard touchdown with 3:13 left.

Then it was Beck's turn.

He won a national title as a backup at Georgia before two productive seasons as the Bulldogs' starter. Beck kept the Hurricanes calm amid the storm, leading them down the field for the winning score — and a shot at a national title on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium.

Now 37-5 as a starter, Beck gets one more chance at glory against against top-ranked Indiana or No. 5 Oregon on Jan. 19 in the CFP championship game.

“He’s hungry, he’s driven, he’s a great human being, and all he wants to do is to see his teammates have success,” said Mario Cristobal, in his fourth season coaching his alma mater. “And that’s what we witnessed tonight.”

The sixth-seeded Rebels lost their coach before the playoff, but not their cool.

If anything, Lane Kiffin’s decision to bolt for LSU seemed to harden Ole Miss’ resolve, pushing the Rebels to the best season in school history — and within a game of their first national championship game.

“I will just remember how they embraced each other,” Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said. “There was a lot going on the last month. They're going to be talking about this for a long time.”

They sure will.

Ole Miss took the lead on Lucas Carneiro’s fourth field goal, from 21 yards, and seemed poised to continue its improbable run with Chambliss’ TD pass to Wright.

Even after Beck's touchdown, the Rebels still had a chance.

Chambliss completed two passes to get Ole Miss to the Miami 35 with 6 seconds left, offering a glimmer of hope.

The best season in Rebels history ended when Chambliss' heave to the end zone fell incomplete as time expired, but what a run it was.

“This team has just sacrificed a lot to get to this point,” said Chambliss, who threw for 277 yards and a touchdown. “This season’s been bumpy and there’s been a lot of things going on, and we just kept our focus. It’s been truly special.”

With Golding calling the shots after being promoted from defensive coordinator — and most of the assistants sticking around — the Rebels blew out Tulane to open the playoff and took down mighty Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals.

They faced a different kind of storm in the Hurricanes.

Miami has rekindled memories of its 2001 national championship team behind a defense that went from porous to nearly impenetrable in its first season under coordinator Corey Hetherman.

The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Ole Miss to minus-1 yard.

One play revved up the Rebels and their rowdy fans.

Kewan Lacy, the nation’s third-leading rusher, burst through a hole up the middle for a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter — the longest run allowed by Miami’s defense since 2018.

The Hurricanes seemed content to grind away at the Rebels in small chunks offensively, setting up CharMar Brown’s 4-yard touchdown run and a field goal.

Miami unlocked the deep game just before halftime, taking advantage of a busted coverage for a 52-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Keelan Marion.

Carneiro made a 58-yard field goal just before halftime, had a 51-yarder bounce off the left upright and caromed in a 54-yarder off the same upright later in the third quarter.

The kicker's ups and downs mirrored the Rebels' night in the desert, one that ended with the Hurricanes heading home to play for a championship.

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Miami defensive back Jakobe Thomas holds the defensive player of the game trophy after the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Mississippi, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Miami players celebrate after winning the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Mississippi, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Miami offensive lineman Markel Bell celebrates after winning the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Mississippi, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Miami wide receiver CJ Daniels (7) catches a pass while tackled by Mississippi cornerback Chris Graves Jr. (32) during the first half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Miami running back Charmar Brown (6) runs the ball against Mississippi linebacker Tahj Chambers (26) during the first half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Mississippi cornerback Chris Graves Jr. (32) tackles Miami running back Mark Fletcher Jr. (4) during the first half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) celebrates after a two-point conversion during the second half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Miami, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Miami quarterback Carson Beck scores a touchdown during the second half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Mississippi, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Miami quarterback Carson Beck, right, prepares to hand off to running back Mark Fletcher Jr. during the first half of the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Ohio State Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Mississippi head coach Pete Golding runs on the field at halftime during the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game against Georgia, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

A quarterback reportedly reneging on a lucrative deal to hit the transfer portal, only to return to his original school. Another starting QB, this one in the College Football Playoff, awaiting approval from the NCAA to play next season, an expensive NIL deal apparently hanging in the balance. A defensive star, sued by his former school after transferring, filing a lawsuit of his own.

It is easy to see why many observers say things are a mess in college football even amid a highly compelling postseason.

“It gets crazier and crazier. It really, really does,” said Sam Ehrlich, a Boise State legal studies professor who tracks litigation against the NCAA. He said he might have to add a new section for litigation against the NCAA stemming just from transfer portal issues.

“I think a guy signing a contract and then immediately deciding he wants to go to another school, that’s a kind of a new thing,” he said. “Not new kind of historically when you think about all the contract jumping that was going on in the ’60s and ’70s with the NBA. But it’s a new thing for college sports, that’s for sure.”

Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. said late Thursday he will return to school for the 2026 season rather than enter the transfer portal, avoiding a potentially messy dispute amid reports the Huskers were prepared to pursue legal options to enforce Williams’ name, image and likeness contract.

Edge rusher Damon Wilson is looking to transfer after one season at Missouri, having been sued for damages by Georgia over his decision to leave the Bulldogs. He has countersued.

Then there is Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who reportedly has a new NIL deal signed but is awaiting an NCAA waiver allowing him to play another season as he and the Rebels played Thursday night's Collge Football Playoff semifinal against Miami. On the Hurricanes roster: Defensive back Xavier Lucas, whose transfer from Wisconsin led to a lawsuit against the Hurricanes last year with the Badgers claiming he was improperly lured by NIL money. Lucas has played all season for Miami. The case is pending.

Court rulings have favored athletes of late, winning them not just millions in compensation but the ability to play immediately after transferring rather than have to sit out a year as once was the case. They can also discuss specific NIL compensation with schools and boosters before enrolling and current court battles include players seeking to play longer without lower-college seasons counting against their eligibility and ability to land NIL money while doing it.

Ehrlich compared the situation to the labor upheaval professional leagues went through before finally settling on collective bargaining, which has been looked at as a potential solution by some in college sports over the past year. Athletes.org, a players association for college athletes, recently offered a 38-page proposal of what a labor deal could look like.

“I think NCAA is concerned, and rightfully so, that anything they try to do to tamp down this on their end is going to get shut down,” Ehrlich said. “Which is why really the only two solutions at this point are an act of Congress, which feels like an act of God at this point, or potentially collective bargaining, which has its own major, major challenges and roadblocks.”

The NCAA has been lobbying for years for limited antitrust protection to keep some kind of control over the new landscape — and to avoid more crippling lawsuits — but bills have gone nowhere in Congress.

Collective bargaining is complicated and universities have long balked at the idea that their athletes are employees in some way. Schools would become responsible for paying wages, benefits, and workers’ compensation. And while private institutions fall under the National Labor Relations Board, public universities must follow labor laws that vary from state to state; virtually every state in the South has “right to work” laws that present challenges for unions.

Ehrlich noted the short careers for college athletes and wondered whether a union for collective bargaining is even possible.

To sports attorney Mit Winter, employment contracts may be the simplest solution.

“This isn’t something that’s novel to college sports,” said Winter, a former college basketball player who is now a sports attorney with Kennyhertz Perry. “Employment contracts are a huge part of college sports, it’s just novel for the athletes.”

Employment contracts for players could be written like those for coaches, he suggested, which would offer buyouts and prevent players from using the portal as a revolving door.

“The contracts that schools are entering into with athletes now, they can be enforced, but they cannot keep an athlete out of school because they’re not signing employment contracts where the school is getting the right to have the athlete play football for their school or basketball or whatever sport it is,” Winter said. “They’re just acquiring the right to be able to use the athlete’s NIL rights in various ways. So, a NIL agreement is not going to stop an athlete from transferring or going to play whatever sport it is that he or she plays at another school.”

There are challenges here, too, of course: Should all college athletes be treated as employees or just those in revenue-producing sports? Can all injured athletes seek workers' compensation and insurance protection? Could states start taxing athlete NIL earnings?

Winter noted a pending federal case against the NCAA could allow for athletes to be treated as employees more than they currently are.

“What’s going on in college athletics now is trying to create this new novel system where the athletes are basically treated like employees, look like employees, but we don’t want to call them employees,” Winter said. “We want to call them something else and say they’re not being paid for athletic services. They’re being paid for use of their NIL. So, then it creates new legal issues that have to be hashed out and addressed, which results in a bumpy and chaotic system when you’re trying to kind of create it from scratch.”

He said employment contracts would allow for uniform rules, including how many schools an athlete can go to or if the athlete can go to another school when the deal is up. That could also lead to the need for collective bargaining.

“If the goal is to keep someone at a school for a certain defined period of time, it’s got to be employment contracts,” Winter said.

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Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) runs the ball during the second half of the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal game against Miami, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)