Late Beck TD carries Miami into CFP title game

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- 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 championship since 2001 after beating Ole Miss 31-27 in an exhilarating College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.

"It's the best feeling I ever had in my life," Beck said of the TD.

The 10th-seeded Hurricanes (13-2) had their vaunted defense picked apart by the sixth-seeded Rebels (13-2) in a wild fourth quarter, falling into a 27-24 hole after Trinidad Chambliss threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dae'Quan Wright with 3:13 left.

Beck, who won a national title as a backup at Georgia, kept the Hurricanes calm, leading them down the field for the winning score -- and a shot at a national title on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 19 against Friday's Oregon-Indiana winner. Beck is 37-5 as a starter, including two seasons at Georgia.

"That's a perfect example of a guy who just feels supported," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of Beck, who was named offensive player of the game. "He's hungry, he's driven, he's a great human being. And all he wants to do is see is teammates have success.

"Carson Beck, I cant say enough good things about him. Absolutely awesome."

The 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 a win away from their first national championship game.

Ole Miss kept Miami within reach when its offense labored and took a 19-17 lead on Lucas Carneiro's fourth field goal, from 21 yards.

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

Chambliss' TD pass to Wright put the Rebels back on top, but the improbable run came to an end when the defense couldn't hold the Hurricanes.

But what a run it was.

With Pete Golding calling the shots after being promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach, 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 given up 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.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.