Bill ConnellyJan 2, 2026, 01:00 AM ETCloseBill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.Follow on X
play0:35Oregon forces a fumble to set up a Jordon Davison TDOregon extends their lead after a forced fumble leads to a 6-yard touchdown run from Jordon Davison.
play0:35Miami stuns Buckeyes with a 72-yard pick-sixMiami’s Keionte Scott intercepts Julian Sayin and takes it 72 yards to the house for the Hurricanes.
Ole Miss stuns Georgia to win Sugar Bowl (1:36)Lucas Carneiro nails a 47-yard field goal to give Ole Miss a 37-34 win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. (1:36)
Oregon forces a fumble to set up a Jordon Davison TDOregon extends their lead after a forced fumble leads to a 6-yard touchdown run from Jordon Davison.
Oregon extends their lead after a forced fumble leads to a 6-yard touchdown run from Jordon Davison.
Miami stuns Buckeyes with a 72-yard pick-sixMiami’s Keionte Scott intercepts Julian Sayin and takes it 72 yards to the house for the Hurricanes.
Miami’s Keionte Scott intercepts Julian Sayin and takes it 72 yards to the house for the Hurricanes.
The second edition of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals gave us two classics and two statement wins. On Wednesday in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, No. 10 Miami rode an early 14-0 burst and a clutch-late touchdown drive to a 24-14 upset of No. 2 Ohio State. The Hurricanes advanced to the semis to face No. 6 Ole Miss, which won an incredible, back-and-forth Allstate Sugar Bowl, 39-34 over No. 3 Georgia.
Ole Miss scored 20 fourth-quarter points, avenged its only regular season loss and advanced to the CFP semifinals for the first time. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns, two different Rebels players topped 120 receiving yards, the Rebels’ defense made a huge late stop, and Lucas Carneiro absolutely crushed three big field goals, including the game-winning 47-yarder with six seconds left.
The fourth quarter was a roller coaster. Ole Miss’ win probability at the start of the quarter was just 24.2%, but it zipped past 50% after Chambliss threw a gorgeous 44-yard pass to Harrison Wallace III and a Lacy TD gave the Rebels a 27-24 lead. Georgia went for it on fourth-and-2 at its own 33, but Suntarine Perkins sacked Stockton and recovered a fumble. Chambliss found Wallace for another TD, and it was 34-24 Rebels. Win probability: 89.7%.
Eight minutes later, Ole Miss’ win probability was back down to 31.8% when Georgia had a first-and-goal down 34-31, but the Rebels forced a field goal, and the 40-yard bomb to Stribling was worth 28.2% win probability — from 47.3% to 75.5%. So many wild swings. What a game.
It sure seems like they’re going to return a lot in 2026, though, especially on a defense that unearthed quite a few young stars. The 2021-22 champs are going to be disappointed with a second straight quarterfinal defeat, but they’re going to be right back in the mix a year from now.
Either Ole Miss or Miami will play for the national title. What a world we live in. The Rebels and Hurricanes will meet in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl next Thursday. It’s the first semifinal for both teams. Miami won their last meeting, but since it happened in 1950, I’m guessing it won’t have much bearing on this one.
I wrote in the quarterfinal preview that Bama could put itself in position for an upset if the Tide slowed the Hoosiers’ run game, if Simpson had some time in the pocket and if they took advantage of fourth-down opportunities. Black and Hemby combined for 188 rushing yards, Simpson had to check down constantly because of pressure and good coverage (his 12 completions gained just 67 yards), and the Tide went 0-for-2 on fourth downs. Hence the blowout.
I also wrote in the preview that Alabama played like a scrappy underdog, winning on the margins and gutting out close games. It took a 4-1 record in one-score games — and, yes, a friendly CFP committee that chose not to drop the Tide in the rankings after their blowout loss in the SEC championship game — to get them to the quarterfinals, but it wasn’t the first time a Kalen DeBoer team knew how to gut out tough wins. He’s pretty good at game management.
The Hoosiers outgained the Ducks by 59 yards (and 0.6 yards per play) and controlled the second half, but with two playoff wins by a combined 40 points, Oregon is in fine form. Both teams play fast, physical ball, and though Indiana will be deservedly favored, it should be a hell of a contest.
Oregon kicked a field goal in the first quarter, and the game was over. Basically. Tech’s defense played heroic ball, but the Ducks dominated the Red Raiders’ offense so thoroughly that nothing else mattered. Oregon allowed just 215 total yards, with four turnovers and three turnovers on downs; its offense’s only touchdowns came on drives of 6 and 28 yards, and it still hasn’t done much damage against elite defenses in 2025. But the Ducks’ own elite defense carried the day.
With the Red Raiders’ offense so ineffective, they needed some serious turnover luck to have a chance. Instead, Oregon recovered all five of the game’s fumbles — three of its own and both of Tech’s — and that removed all hope. Despite allowing just 88 yards in the first half, the Ducks led only 6-0 when Matayo Uiagalelei changed the game with a strip sack of Behren Morton. He grabbed the ball himself and took it to the Tech 6, setting up the first of two short Jordon Davison touchdowns.
Oregon forces a fumble to set up a Jordon Davison TD
Oregon’s win probability jumped from 70.2% to 85.9% in those two plays, and although Tech responded with two solid, sustained drives, the first ended when the Red Raiders’ line got blown up on a fourth-and-1 run by J’Koby Williams, and the second ended when Morton threw a poor pass into double coverage and it was easily picked by Brandon Finney Jr. Finney picked off two passes and recovered a fumble. The freshman corner was brilliant.
Another Tech 3&O (three-and-out), and Morton’s sacked for 17-yard loss by Tuioti. Yikes. (Yards: Oregon 100, Tech -2.)
HUGE 50-yard cutback run by Williams but 3&O from there. Stone Harrington hooks a 54-yarder wide left.
Morton makes a couple of 3rd down completions to dig out of hole, but Cameron Dickey fumbles. Jeez. Oregon ball at the TT 29.
Another 3&O to start Q3: run stuff, pass batted down, short pass, punt returned by Malik Benson into Tech territory. Guh.
Oregon now gets a revenge opportunity: A Peach Bowl rematch against Indiana. The Ducks’ offense will face burden of proof in the matchup — they averaged just 4.2 yards per play against IU the first time around 3.8 against Tech — but the defense will likely be up for the challenge.
Miami combined steady and efficient offense with a 72-yard Keionte Scott pick-six to race to a 14-0 lead, and when Ohio State rallied to get to within 17-14 in the second half, the Hurricanes responded with a perfect five-minute, 70-yard touchdown drive to ice the game.
Miami’s defense dominated early. Star ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor combined for three sacks in the first half, and Ohio State punted on four of its first five drives. After Julian Sayin hit Jeremiah Smith for a 59-yard bomb in the second quarter, Scott pounced on a telegraphed screen pass and took it the other way for a score.
Miami controlled the early going, but a Mark Fletcher Jr. fumble prevented the Canes from taking a quick lead. He made up for it with a 9-yard touchdown catch off of a faked Carson Beck sneak, and Scott’s pick-six shifted the odds in the Hurricanes’ favor.
Ohio State heads into 2026 in perfectly solid shape, of course. Sayin will return after throwing for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns in 2025 (he had 287 and one TD on Wednesday night), and the major stars in the skill corps — Smith and running back Bo Jackson (11 carries for 55 yards) — should be back as well. The Buckeyes are built to compete every year in a 12-team playoff era.
Still, a missed opportunity is a missed opportunity. After looking like the best team in the country for 12 games, the Buckeyes finished 2025 with back-to-back losses, and as Miami made this game a test of physicality and toughness, Ohio State couldn’t respond appropriately.
After becoming the first double-digit seed to win a playoff game, Miami has now become the first to reach a semifinal as well. It was very much in doubt whether Mario Cristobal’s Hurricanes would make the CFP at all, but they’ve made the most of the opportunity. They’ll play Ole Miss in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
This was, quite simply, the biggest Miami win since 2002. With loads of former Hurricanes greats on the sideline — from Michael Irvin, to Ray Lewis, to former coach Jimmie Johnson — college football’s history was very much present in Arlington. And the Hurricanes managed to overcome both recent ghosts and Ohio State’s talent to survive and advance.
On the opposite side of the bracket, in Thursday’s first two games, No. 5 Oregon, a 2.5-point favorite over No. 4 Texas Tech, countered a brilliant defensive performance with an even better defensive performance in a 23-0 shutout in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Then, in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl presented by Prudential, No. 1 Indiana throttled No. 9 Alabama, 38-3. We have three first-time CFP semifinalists, and the only team that’s been here before (Oregon) is looking for its first ever national title. We are living in wild times in this college football universe.
After a slow start, Georgia used a 21-6 run to take a nine-point halftime lead. Running backs Nate Frazier and Cash Jones combined for 124 yards on 14 touches to pace a physical attack. However, the Bulldogs scored only three points on their first four second-half possessions, and some magical scrambles from Chambliss and a couple of touchdowns from Kewan Lacy allowed Ole Miss to take a 34-24 lead early in the fourth quarter. Georgia responded, as the Dawgs always do, quickly driving for a score, getting the ball back (with help from a dreadful facemask no-call) and driving again. But Ole Miss stiffened and forced a Peyton Woodring field goal with 56 seconds left, and a 40-yard bomb from Chambliss to De’Zhaun Stribling set up Carneiro’s game-winner.