Chris Fowler, who called the national championship game and resides in Miami Beach, spoke to Rich Eisen about the Miami Hurricanes and their future. A transcript of their discussion is below:
Rich Eisen:
What do you think is the larger message of the title game? Miami had it right there. They had momentum, they had elite talent on the field, everything felt set up. Chris, do you think there’s a message that comes out of what we saw?
Chris Fowler:
First of all, Indiana dominated early, but Miami really took control in the second half. They actually outgained Indiana after halftime. I think Indiana won the game with special teams, and that’s part of the completeness of that team that maybe hasn’t been fully appreciated because we get so caught up in Fernando Mendoza and the defense, which is certainly rugged.
They blocked four punts this year. They blocked one against Oregon. And the biggest play of the game was Kamar’s blocked punt for a touchdown. On the other side, Miami lost ten points on special teams alone—there was the doink on Davis’ long field goal try in the first half. That’s ten points right there. You can’t do that against a team like Indiana.
For me, that blocked punt was the biggest play of the game before Mendoza’s touchdown dive. Indiana is complete. That’s why I think the blueprint is repeatable, even if the exact result isn’t. Indiana is going to be strong and sound going forward.
And Miami, by the way, is not going anywhere. I really felt for them. I felt for Carson Beck. We’ve been along for his entire ride—this long career at Georgia and now a year at Miami—and I felt badly for him. As I get older, Rich, I get softer emotionally thinking about how these guys personally take a crushing loss like that.
Carson did some really good things late to put them in position to win. That 91-yard touchdown drive against a tough defense, after getting off to a very rough start, was impressive. In the end, though, people will remember the interception by Jamari Sharpe—whose uncle Glenn was the man flagged for pass interference when he played for Miami against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, the last time Miami was on this stage.
Isn’t it crazy? You live out in Hollywood. The layers of this script are insane. You couldn’t hand this to a studio. They’d say, “Come on, this is too much.” We thought Hoosiers was corny—this is outrageous.
Rich Eisen:
You hang with the writers, the storytellers, the people who would say, “No one would believe this.”
Chris Fowler:
Exactly. And speaking of unbelievable, Malachi Toney—he’s electric. It’s only fitting he wears Tyreek Hill’s number. Every time he touched the ball, I swear you stood up a little in the booth, because you just don’t know what’s going to happen.
I love that guy. I really do. He just turned 18 after catching the touchdown to beat Notre Dame in his first college game—he was 17 at the time. He had an amazing freshman season. He’s wise beyond his years, extremely tough, a complete player, and a total team guy.
They called him “Baby Jesus” in high school down here because he was that good. Curt Cignetti and defensive coordinator Brian Haynes said they had multiple plans—four different plans—to stop Toney. And for a while, it worked.
But you keep feeding him the ball, and he just finds a way to create space and make things happen. I think he’s the most exciting player in the sport, and I love the fact that we’re going to see him for two more years.
Rich Eisen:
I don’t think that’s overstating it at all. Every time he has the ball, you truly don’t know what’s coming.
There was also a great shot your crew caught last night—Carson Beck about to go out for that final, do-or-die moment, and there’s Ray Lewis on the sideline saying, “Okay.” Every player I’ve ever interviewed who played with Ray says they never want to let him down.
When Beck threw that interception, I immediately thought, “Oh man… how is he going to see Ray Lewis after this?”
And then you see Ed Reed going up to Toney in the tunnel, putting an arm around him. It’s wild to see the past, present, and future of Miami all colliding like this over the last few weeks.
Chris Fowler:
That’s been one of the coolest parts of this run—having all the legends back. All those gold jackets. Those guys are emotionally invested. They suffered while Miami slid into mediocrity and irrelevance. They’ve been teased before. They thought maybe last year was the year, but the defense wasn’t nearly good enough.
This year, things really did come together. Ray Lewis told Carson Beck before the game-winning drive against Ole Miss, “Let’s go do it.” He repeated that message here, but they didn’t get the same result.
And then you’ve got Michael Irvin on the sideline in a four-point stance with his belt.
Rich Eisen:
That might be my biggest takeaway from the playoff—Michael Irvin in a four-point stance.
Chris Fowler:
Absolutely. And SNL even sent him up over the weekend. He actually got some run out of it.
Rich Eisen:
What do you think is the larger message of the title game? Miami had it right there. They had momentum, they had elite talent on the field, everything felt set up. Chris, do you think there’s a message that comes out of what we saw?
Chris Fowler:
First of all, Indiana dominated early, but Miami really took control in the second half. They actually outgained Indiana after halftime. I think Indiana won the game with special teams, and that’s part of the completeness of that team that maybe hasn’t been fully appreciated because we get so caught up in Fernando Mendoza and the defense, which is certainly rugged.
They blocked four punts this year. They blocked one against Oregon. And the biggest play of the game was Kamar’s blocked punt for a touchdown. On the other side, Miami lost ten points on special teams alone—there was the doink on Davis’ long field goal try in the first half. That’s ten points right there. You can’t do that against a team like Indiana.
For me, that blocked punt was the biggest play of the game before Mendoza’s touchdown dive. Indiana is complete. That’s why I think the blueprint is repeatable, even if the exact result isn’t. Indiana is going to be strong and sound going forward.
And Miami, by the way, is not going anywhere. I really felt for them. I felt for Carson Beck. We’ve been along for his entire ride—this long career at Georgia and now a year at Miami—and I felt badly for him. As I get older, Rich, I get softer emotionally thinking about how these guys personally take a crushing loss like that.
Carson did some really good things late to put them in position to win. That 91-yard touchdown drive against a tough defense, after getting off to a very rough start, was impressive. In the end, though, people will remember the interception by Jamari Sharpe—whose uncle Glenn was the man flagged for pass interference when he played for Miami against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, the last time Miami was on this stage.
Isn’t it crazy? You live out in Hollywood. The layers of this script are insane. You couldn’t hand this to a studio. They’d say, “Come on, this is too much.” We thought Hoosiers was corny—this is outrageous.
Rich Eisen:
You hang with the writers, the storytellers, the people who would say, “No one would believe this.”
Chris Fowler:
Exactly. And speaking of unbelievable, Malachi Toney—he’s electric. It’s only fitting he wears Tyreek Hill’s number. Every time he touched the ball, I swear you stood up a little in the booth, because you just don’t know what’s going to happen.
I love that guy. I really do. He just turned 18 after catching the touchdown to beat Notre Dame in his first college game—he was 17 at the time. He had an amazing freshman season. He’s wise beyond his years, extremely tough, a complete player, and a total team guy.
They called him “Baby Jesus” in high school down here because he was that good. Curt Cignetti and defensive coordinator Brian Haynes said they had multiple plans—four different plans—to stop Toney. And for a while, it worked.
But you keep feeding him the ball, and he just finds a way to create space and make things happen. I think he’s the most exciting player in the sport, and I love the fact that we’re going to see him for two more years.
Rich Eisen:
I don’t think that’s overstating it at all. Every time he has the ball, you truly don’t know what’s coming.
There was also a great shot your crew caught last night—Carson Beck about to go out for that final, do-or-die moment, and there’s Ray Lewis on the sideline saying, “Okay.” Every player I’ve ever interviewed who played with Ray says they never want to let him down.
When Beck threw that interception, I immediately thought, “Oh man… how is he going to see Ray Lewis after this?”
And then you see Ed Reed going up to Toney in the tunnel, putting an arm around him. It’s wild to see the past, present, and future of Miami all colliding like this over the last few weeks.
Chris Fowler:
That’s been one of the coolest parts of this run—having all the legends back. All those gold jackets. Those guys are emotionally invested. They suffered while Miami slid into mediocrity and irrelevance. They’ve been teased before. They thought maybe last year was the year, but the defense wasn’t nearly good enough.
This year, things really did come together. Ray Lewis told Carson Beck before the game-winning drive against Ole Miss, “Let’s go do it.” He repeated that message here, but they didn’t get the same result.
And then you’ve got Michael Irvin on the sideline in a four-point stance with his belt.
Rich Eisen:
That might be my biggest takeaway from the playoff—Michael Irvin in a four-point stance.
Chris Fowler:
Absolutely. And SNL even sent him up over the weekend. He actually got some run out of it.
