Cotton Bowl: Miami ousts defending champ Ohio State to reach CFP semifinals
By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — Keionte Scott peeked over at the Miami sideline to see the reaction of his teammates as he sprinted 72 yards untouched for a touchdown on an interception return against defending national champion Ohio State.
They certainly were excited, as were a Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver and a former coach who won national championships with the Hurricanes.
Scott picked off a screen pass by Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin, Carson Beck threw a touchdown pass and 10th-seeded Miami shocked the second-seeded Buckeyes, 24-14, on Wednesday night at the Cotton Bowl in the first College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
“I was full of emotions. … That was a pretty cool moment,” said Scott, who has touchdown returns on both of his interceptions this season. “Just having fun. … That’s what this team relies on, man, just going out there playing free and just having fun.”
The Hurricanes (12-2) have won two playoff games to get into football’s final four after needing an at-large berth to make the 12-team field, after not even playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. One more win and they will get to play for a national championship in their home stadium.
Next for Miami in Coach Mario Cristobal’s fourth season is a CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 against No. 3 seed Georgia or No. 6 seed Mississippi, the SEC teams who will meet in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night.
There hasn’t been a national title for “The U” since 2001, when Cristobal was a standout offensive tackle for the Hurricanes and part of his second championship there. The Hurricanes were denied a repeat the following season with a double-overtime loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, the only other time the teams met in a bowl – and the last time Miami played in that game.
“It is 100% not about me. I’m part of their team, I’m a part of that family,” Cristobal said. “It is my obligation as a former Miami Hurricane player and all the things that Miami did for my brother and I to do my best to try to provide these guys with even better opportunities so they can fulfill all the great things they are destined for.”
Before receiver Michael Irvin and coach Jimmy Johnson were Super Bowl champions with the Dallas Cowboys, they were part of the Hurricanes’ 1987 national championship. Irvin excitedly ran down the sideline while Scott was scoring for a 14-0 lead, and Johnson was nearby when acknowledged by Cristobal during the on-field trophy presentation.
Now it’s Ohio State (12-2), which went into the game as a 9½-point favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, that can’t win back-to-back national titles for the first time in program history.
The Buckeyes hadn’t played since a 13-10 loss to now-No. 1 Indiana in a Big Ten championship game matchup of undefeated teams on Dec. 6. They still got a first-round bye, then lost just like all four teams that went directly to the quarterfinal round in the inaugural 12-team playoff last season.
“We worked really hard during the last three weeks leading up to this game to come out of the gates and win the first quarter, win the first half, be ready to go,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said. “I think the guys bought into it. But at the end of the day, we didn’t get it done.”
Scott’s interception return came only 1:42 after Beck’s quick pass to Mark Fletcher Jr. out of the backfield for a 9-yard score.
Beck, who was part of Georgia’s national titles in 2021 and 2022 when Stetson Bennett was the starter, completed 19 of 26 passes for 138 yards.
When asked what stood out to him about these Hurricanes, Beck said, “Just the way that this team has responded to adversity. We knew coming into today that it wasn’t going to be easy.”
The touchdown throw to Fletcher, who also ran 19 times for 90 yards and was named the game’s Offensive MVP, was the seventh of 13 consecutive completions for Beck. That set a record in the Cotton Bowl, which was played for the 90th time.
Sayin, a freshman backup behind Will Howard during Ohio State’s championship run last season, finished 22 of 35 for 287 yards with two interceptions and a TD to Jeremiah Smith. Sayin was sacked five times.
AP All-America receiver Smith, a Miami native, caught seven of those passes for 157 yards, including a 14-yard TD on a fourth down in the fourth quarter.
Carter Davis added a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter and ChaMar Brown ran for a 5-yard touchdown in the game’s final minute for the Hurricanes, whose 24 points were the most Ohio State gave up this season.
THE TAKEAWAY
Miami: The Hurricanes have won six games in a row since an overtime loss at SMU on Nov. 1, less than 25 miles from AT&T Stadium, where the Cotton Bowl is played. They also made their CFP debut in the Lone Star State, winning 10-3 at No. 7 Texas A&M in the first round on Dec. 20.
Ohio State: All-America safety Caleb Downs, who started in the CFP for the third season in a row, became the first player to force two fumbles in a CFP game. … The Buckeyes had gone four consecutive quarters – the equivalent of a full game – until Bo Jackson’s 1-yard TD run to cap its opening drive of the second half.
UP NEXT
Miami waits to see who it will play in the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State is scheduled to open its 2026 season at home against Ball State on Sept. 5.