Each week this season, we’ll take a look at the game that was for the Hurricanes.
Here are some key storylines, numbers of note and quotes from No. 10 Miami’s 24-14 win over No. 2 Ohio State in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium.
With the win, Miami improved to 12-2 and advanced to the semifinals of the CFP where it will face the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between No. 3 Georgia and No. 6 Mississippi.
Ohio State, meanwhile, finished its season 12-2.
The Recap
Entering Wednesday night’s Cotton Bowl showdown with Ohio State, the Hurricanes knew they faced a daunting challenge.
The Buckeyes were the defending national champions. Their defense featured three first-team All-Americans. Quarterback Julian Sayin was a Heisman Trophy finalist and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was an All-American, too.
For all of those reasons and more, Ohio State was the heavy favorite and more than a few folks outside Coral Gables weren’t sure the Hurricanes could keep up with the Buckeyes.
Turned out they could – and they did.
Miami came out after a scoreless first quarter and put a pair of touchdowns on the board in the span of two minutes.
The first came when quarterback Carson Beck found running back Mark Fletcher Jr. for a 9-yard score that capped a masterful 13-play, 83-yard drive that took 8:04 off the clock.
And three plays into Ohio State’s ensuing possession, Miami scored again – this time when Keionte Scottintercepted Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin and returned the pick 72 yards for a touchdown.
The pair of touchdowns sent the Miami fans who traveled to North Texas into a frenzy and helped the Hurricanes take a 14-0 lead into the locker room.
But the Buckeyes wouldn’t let their championship reign end without a fight.
After winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, Ohio State opened the third quarter by moving down the field on an 11-play, 82-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Bo Jackson that cut Miami’s lead in half.
Miami answered with a scoring drive of its own and pushed its lead to 17-7 after a 49-yard field goal from Carter Davis.
The Buckeyes put together another impressive drive through the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, marching 75 yards on 10 plays and cutting Miami’s to three after Sayin connected with Smith on a 14-yard touchdown play.
The two teams traded possessions, and the Hurricanes went into the game’s final six minutes clinging to its 17-14 lead.
Then came another stellar drive from the Hurricanes offense.
Miami muscled its way down the field, and on the strength of eight run plays, got a much-needed score when Marty Brown charged into the end zone on 5-yard run.
Brown’s touchdown run capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive and – most importantly – took 5:01 off the clock.
By the time the Buckeyes got the ball back, they had just 55 seconds to try and cut into a 10-point defense. And Miami’s defense made certain that didn’t happen.
The Hurricanes forced another turnover – this time an interception by Jakobe Thomas – and Miami advanced to the CFP semifinals.
“We just stuck to the plan. That’s why I love those guys and what they stand for, you know? When they say they’re getting ready to get back to work and get on to the next one, it’s what they are,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “That’s their DNA. But that’s the way we’ve been working to hard-wire our team, and probably the most important thing, we have a long way to go. But we are getting better in really good chunks and really good increments. So, certainly looking forward to doing it again.”
Numbers to Know
5 – Sacks of Sayin totaled by the Miami defense. Veteran defensive end Akheem Mesidor had two of those sacks, while linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. , and defensive end Marquise Lightfoothad a sack each. The win over Ohio State marked the second playoff game in which the Hurricanes notched at least five sacks. Miami had seven sacks in its win over Texas A&M on Dec. 20.
1,008 – Receiving yards on the season for freshman Malachi Toney. During Wednesday’s game, Toney became the seventh Hurricane to record at least 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
2,068 – Career rushing yards for Fletcher. The junior passed the 2,000-yard mark with a 13-yard carry during Miami’s third drive of the game. He is the 11th Miami running back to reach that milestone during their Hurricanes careers. Fletcher had 90 rushing yards against the Buckeyes.
13 – Straight completions for Beck during the first half against Ohio State. That is a new Cotton Bowl record. Beck finished the game completing 19 of 26 passes and throwing for 138 yards with a touchdown.
45 – Rushing yards allowed by the Miami defense on Wednesday night. Ohio State had been averaging 118 rushing yards per game before the Cotton Bowl.
Quotable
“Yeah, it means everything to me. It means everything to this team to get to somewhere that we haven’t been, haven’t been in for so long. This team has constantly battled through adversity, constantly fought, has never not given enough, regardless of any type of doubt, regardless of any negativity that might surround this team. We’re banded together as one. We’ve shown unity. We’ve shown connection and we’ve shown that we’re a family. I feel like the way that we play and the brand of football we play shows that.”
– Quarterback Carson Beck, on what it means for Miami to advance to the national semifinals of the CFP
“They’re a really good team. A lot of good players all over the field, o-line and d-line. I think the way we practice and the type of guys that Coach Cristobal recruits, he’s an offensive line guy. He takes a lot of pride in it. The way we train year-round is built for moments like this and it paid off today.”
– Offensive lineman James Brockermeyer, on why Miami was able to dominate the line of scrimmage against Ohio State
“It’s football. It happens. I couldn’t drop my head. There was no time for that. My teammates, even defensive players, they came up to me, and they just didn’t want to let me have my head down. There wasn’t time for that. It’s football. It happens, but it’s all about how you bounce back.”
– Running back Mark Fletcher Jr., on the way he was able to rebound and rush for 90 yards after fumbling early in the game
“When I first got here, the program was just very serious about what they were trying to get done. You could tell everybody in the room had their eyes on one goal, and that was something I was super excited to buy into. I feel like Coach Cristobal does a good job of keeping us focused and keeping us on task. We’ll take 24 hours to focus on this one and continue to keep it going. But it’s definitely something that we don’t look past at all. We’re very grateful to be in this situation but we’re never satisfied.”
– Cornerback Keionte Scott on what it meant for Miami to beat the defending national champions and advance in the College Football Playoff
“It’s the same team we’ve been since the beginning. People are just getting to see it now and they’re starting to believe it. We’re just doing what we do. The same thing we do in practice is the same thing we’re going to do in the game. Being the Hurricanes that we are, we trust in the coaches and trust in each other.”
– Defensive end Rueben Bain Jr., on Miami’s defensive performance against Ohio State, particularly when it came to pressuring quarterback Julian Sayin
Up Next
The Hurricanes advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals where they will face the winner of Thursday night’s Sugar Bowl between No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 3 Georgia.
That semifinal will be played at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8.
Here are some key storylines, numbers of note and quotes from No. 10 Miami’s 24-14 win over No. 2 Ohio State in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium.
With the win, Miami improved to 12-2 and advanced to the semifinals of the CFP where it will face the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between No. 3 Georgia and No. 6 Mississippi.
Ohio State, meanwhile, finished its season 12-2.
The Recap
Entering Wednesday night’s Cotton Bowl showdown with Ohio State, the Hurricanes knew they faced a daunting challenge.
The Buckeyes were the defending national champions. Their defense featured three first-team All-Americans. Quarterback Julian Sayin was a Heisman Trophy finalist and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was an All-American, too.
For all of those reasons and more, Ohio State was the heavy favorite and more than a few folks outside Coral Gables weren’t sure the Hurricanes could keep up with the Buckeyes.
Turned out they could – and they did.
Miami came out after a scoreless first quarter and put a pair of touchdowns on the board in the span of two minutes.
The first came when quarterback Carson Beck found running back Mark Fletcher Jr. for a 9-yard score that capped a masterful 13-play, 83-yard drive that took 8:04 off the clock.
And three plays into Ohio State’s ensuing possession, Miami scored again – this time when Keionte Scottintercepted Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin and returned the pick 72 yards for a touchdown.
The pair of touchdowns sent the Miami fans who traveled to North Texas into a frenzy and helped the Hurricanes take a 14-0 lead into the locker room.
But the Buckeyes wouldn’t let their championship reign end without a fight.
After winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, Ohio State opened the third quarter by moving down the field on an 11-play, 82-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Bo Jackson that cut Miami’s lead in half.
Miami answered with a scoring drive of its own and pushed its lead to 17-7 after a 49-yard field goal from Carter Davis.
The Buckeyes put together another impressive drive through the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, marching 75 yards on 10 plays and cutting Miami’s to three after Sayin connected with Smith on a 14-yard touchdown play.
The two teams traded possessions, and the Hurricanes went into the game’s final six minutes clinging to its 17-14 lead.
Then came another stellar drive from the Hurricanes offense.
Miami muscled its way down the field, and on the strength of eight run plays, got a much-needed score when Marty Brown charged into the end zone on 5-yard run.
Brown’s touchdown run capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive and – most importantly – took 5:01 off the clock.
By the time the Buckeyes got the ball back, they had just 55 seconds to try and cut into a 10-point defense. And Miami’s defense made certain that didn’t happen.
The Hurricanes forced another turnover – this time an interception by Jakobe Thomas – and Miami advanced to the CFP semifinals.
“We just stuck to the plan. That’s why I love those guys and what they stand for, you know? When they say they’re getting ready to get back to work and get on to the next one, it’s what they are,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “That’s their DNA. But that’s the way we’ve been working to hard-wire our team, and probably the most important thing, we have a long way to go. But we are getting better in really good chunks and really good increments. So, certainly looking forward to doing it again.”
Numbers to Know
5 – Sacks of Sayin totaled by the Miami defense. Veteran defensive end Akheem Mesidor had two of those sacks, while linebacker Wesley Bissainthe, defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. , and defensive end Marquise Lightfoothad a sack each. The win over Ohio State marked the second playoff game in which the Hurricanes notched at least five sacks. Miami had seven sacks in its win over Texas A&M on Dec. 20.
1,008 – Receiving yards on the season for freshman Malachi Toney. During Wednesday’s game, Toney became the seventh Hurricane to record at least 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
2,068 – Career rushing yards for Fletcher. The junior passed the 2,000-yard mark with a 13-yard carry during Miami’s third drive of the game. He is the 11th Miami running back to reach that milestone during their Hurricanes careers. Fletcher had 90 rushing yards against the Buckeyes.
13 – Straight completions for Beck during the first half against Ohio State. That is a new Cotton Bowl record. Beck finished the game completing 19 of 26 passes and throwing for 138 yards with a touchdown.
45 – Rushing yards allowed by the Miami defense on Wednesday night. Ohio State had been averaging 118 rushing yards per game before the Cotton Bowl.
Quotable
“Yeah, it means everything to me. It means everything to this team to get to somewhere that we haven’t been, haven’t been in for so long. This team has constantly battled through adversity, constantly fought, has never not given enough, regardless of any type of doubt, regardless of any negativity that might surround this team. We’re banded together as one. We’ve shown unity. We’ve shown connection and we’ve shown that we’re a family. I feel like the way that we play and the brand of football we play shows that.”
– Quarterback Carson Beck, on what it means for Miami to advance to the national semifinals of the CFP
“They’re a really good team. A lot of good players all over the field, o-line and d-line. I think the way we practice and the type of guys that Coach Cristobal recruits, he’s an offensive line guy. He takes a lot of pride in it. The way we train year-round is built for moments like this and it paid off today.”
– Offensive lineman James Brockermeyer, on why Miami was able to dominate the line of scrimmage against Ohio State
“It’s football. It happens. I couldn’t drop my head. There was no time for that. My teammates, even defensive players, they came up to me, and they just didn’t want to let me have my head down. There wasn’t time for that. It’s football. It happens, but it’s all about how you bounce back.”
– Running back Mark Fletcher Jr., on the way he was able to rebound and rush for 90 yards after fumbling early in the game
“When I first got here, the program was just very serious about what they were trying to get done. You could tell everybody in the room had their eyes on one goal, and that was something I was super excited to buy into. I feel like Coach Cristobal does a good job of keeping us focused and keeping us on task. We’ll take 24 hours to focus on this one and continue to keep it going. But it’s definitely something that we don’t look past at all. We’re very grateful to be in this situation but we’re never satisfied.”
– Cornerback Keionte Scott on what it meant for Miami to beat the defending national champions and advance in the College Football Playoff
“It’s the same team we’ve been since the beginning. People are just getting to see it now and they’re starting to believe it. We’re just doing what we do. The same thing we do in practice is the same thing we’re going to do in the game. Being the Hurricanes that we are, we trust in the coaches and trust in each other.”
– Defensive end Rueben Bain Jr., on Miami’s defensive performance against Ohio State, particularly when it came to pressuring quarterback Julian Sayin
Up Next
The Hurricanes advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals where they will face the winner of Thursday night’s Sugar Bowl between No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 3 Georgia.
That semifinal will be played at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8.
