ARLINGTON, Texas — Keionte Scott returned an interception 72 yards for a landing, Carson Beck had a TD go and No. 10 Miami shocked defending champion Ohio State 24-14 on Wednesday night time at the Cotton Bowl in the first College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
The Hurricanes (12-2, CFP No. 10 seed) have won two playoff video games to get into soccer’s ultimate 4 after needing an at-large berth to make the 12-team subject, after not even with out taking part in in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship recreation.
One more win and they will get to play for a nationwide championship in their home stadium.
Keionte Scott returns an interception 72 yards for a landing during the first half of Miami’s 24-14 upset win over Ohio State in their CFP quarterfinal battle on Dec. 31, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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 Ole Miss, the SEC groups in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night time.
There hasn’t been a nationwide title for “The U” since 2001, when Cristobal was an offensive sort out for the Hurricanes and half of his second championship there.
The Hurricanes were denied a repeat the following season with a double-overtime loss in the Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State, the only other time the groups met in a bowl — and the last they performed in that recreation.
“It’s not about me. It’s about all these guys up here, the guys that came before them,” Cristobal said. “This is a joint team effort and a family. … We’re progressing, we’re getting better and better.”
Now it’s third-ranked Ohio State (12-2, CFP No. 2 seed), which went into the recreation as a 9 1/2-point favourite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, that can’t win back-to-back nationwide titles for the first time in program historical past.
The Buckeyes hadn’t performed since a 13-10 loss to now-No. 1 Indiana in a Big Ten championship recreation matchup of undefeated groups on Dec. 6.
They still got a first-round bye, then lost just like all 4 groups that went immediately to the quarterfinal spherical in the inaugural 12-team playoff last season.
Julian Sayin is sacked by Akheem Mesidor, one of his 5 sacks, in Ohio State’s loss to Miami in the CFP quarterfinals. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Scott’s second pick-six this season came when he jumped a fast display screen go to the left thrown by Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin, then had a wide-open subject to dash untouched to the finish zone for a 14-0 lead with 11:49 left in the first half.
That came only 1:42 after Beck’s fast go to Mark Fletcher Jr. coming out of the backfield for a 9-yard rating.
Beck, who was half of Georgia’s nationwide titles in 2021 and 2022 when Stetson Bennett was the starter, accomplished 19 of 26 passes for 138 yards.
When requested what stood out to him about Miami, 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. … That’s a damn good football team on the other side.”
Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal celebrates after Miami’s upset win over Ohio State in the CFP quarterfinals. Getty Images
The TD throw to Fletcher, who also ran 19 occasions for 90 yards and was the recreation’s offensive MVP, was the seventh of 13 consecutive completions for Beck.
That set a file in the Cotton Bowl, which was performed for the ninetieth time.
Sayin, a freshman backup behind Will Howard for Ohio State’s championship run last season, was 22 of 35 for 287 yards with two interceptions and a TD to Jeremiah Smith. Sayin was sacked 5 occasions.
AP All-America receiver Smith, the Miami native, caught seven of these passes for 157 yards, including a 14-yard TD on a fourth down in the fourth quarter.
Carter Davis added a 49-yard subject purpose in the third quarter and ChaMar Brown ran for a 5-yard TD in the recreation’s ultimate minute for the Hurricanes, whose 24 factors were the most Ohio State gave up this season.
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