We have reached the semi-final stage of the College Football Playoffs. After a quarter-final stage with a few close games and a few blowouts, four teams remain. The winners of these games will face off for the National Championship in Miami next week. But, who would those teams be?
Let’s look back at the semi-finals!
Fiesta Bowl: #10 Miami vs #6 Ole Miss
The first semi-final was the Fiesta Bowl game between the 10th-seeded Miami Hurricanes and the 6th-seeded Ole Miss Rebels. Both of these teams have surprised many people this year and are now one win away from playing in a national championship. But who would it be?
The Rebels had the first possession of the game, but were unable to do anything with the ball. This was not the case for Miami. Starting from their 36-yard line, the Hurricanes’ offense, led by Carson Beck, made its way down to the Rebels’ 20-yard line. The drive stalled here, but a 38-yard field goal from Carter Davis was enough to give them the early lead.
They would hold onto the lead until the first play of the second quarter, when Kewan Lacy found the endzone to score a 73-yard rushing touchdown to give Ole Miss the lead. This did not last long. On the following drive, Miami slowly made its way down to the Rebels’ four-yard line. Here, CharMar Brown found the endzone for a touchdown to restore the Hurricanes’ three-point lead.
A 42-yard field goal from Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro on the next drive tied things up, but a 52-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Keelan Marion again kept the Hurricanes in the lead. Another Carneiro field goal on the stroke of halftime meant that as the teams returned to the locker rooms, the Hurricanes had a 17-13 lead over the Rebels.
While both teams were strong in the first half, the third quarter exposed their weaknesses. On their first drive of the half, the Hurricanes got the ball into field goal territory, with Davis attempting a kick from 51 yards out. This kick missed, but Miami still had the lead. On the next drive, it would be the turn of Carneiro to face a field goal attempt from 51 yards out. This kick also missed.
Then, Miami made a mistake that could have changed the entire trajectory of the game. On the edge of the Rebels’ redzone, Beck threw an intercepted pass. This mistake was costly, as Ole Miss converted it into three points with a 54-yard field goal from Carneiro. This meant that going into the final quarter, the Hurricanes only had a one-point lead.
This slim lead would become the deficit after Ole Miss’s first possession of the quarter. This was a long possession, with the Rebels’ offense slowly moving down the field from their 10-yard line to the ‘Canes’ four-yard line. Here, the drive stalled, but Carmiero scored the field goal to give them a two-point lead.
This lead lasted one drive, as Beck would find Malachi Toney for a 36-yard touchdown pass to again restore Miami’s lead. Ole Miss needed to find the endzone on their next drive if it was going to have a chance of staying in this game. Luckily, Rebels’ QB Trinidad Chambliss found Dae’Quan Wright for a 24-yard touchdown pass to give Ole Miss another slim lead with three minutes to play.
The pressure was now on Beck and the Miami offense if they were going to continue the strong run they have been on this season. Starting from their 25-yard line, the offense slowly made its way down to the Rebels’ three-yard line. Here (and with 18 seconds left in the game), Beck scored the rushing touchdown to again take the lead, putting Miami one step closer to the National Championship Game. All they would have to do is prevent the Rebels from finding the endzone once more.
They were able to do this, as the Hail Mary attempt from Chambliss went nowhere. This means that the Miami Hurricanes beat the Ole Miss Rebels 31-27 to make the National Championship game.
For Miami, this win means they will play for a championship in their own stadium. It will be their first championship game since 2002 (before an “official championship game” was a thing), and it gives them a chance to win their first since 2001. As for Ole Miss, they have been through a lot over the last few weeks, losing coach Lane Kiffin to LSU. But they have persevered through all of this and made it deep into the bracket.
But who would Miami face in the National Championship game?
Peach Bowl: #1 Indiana vs. #5 Oregon
The second semi-final was between the number one-seeded Indiana Hoosiers and the number five-seeded Oregon Ducks. These two teams met earlier in the season, with Indiana winning 30-20 over the Ducks. Could they get revenge in this game, or would the Hoosiers’ fantastic season continue?
The Ducks had the first possession of the game and, on the first play, made an error. Ducks QB Dante Moore threw an interception that was returned to the endzone by the Hoosiers defense for a pick-six touchdown. Luckily, the Ducks’ second drive was a lot better. The offense made their way down to the Indiana 19-yard line, where Moore found Jamari Johnson for the touchdown pass to level things up.
This did not last long. With his first drive of the game, Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza led his offense down to the Ducks’ eight-yard line. Here, he found O Cooper Jr for the touchdown pass to restore their lead.
A few drives later, the Ducks made another mistake, with Moore fumbling the ball and losing possession deep in the Ducks’ territory. Hoosiers running back Kaelon Black quickly converted that into another touchdown for the team. They would find the endzone again on the next two drives. First, Mendoza found Charlie Becker for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Then, taking advantage of another Oregon fumble, Mendoza found Elijah Sarratt on the next drive for a two-yard touchdown pass.
This meant that at halftime, the Hoosiers had a 35-7 lead over the Ducks.
Indiana had the first possession of the second half and would widen their lead from it. This time, Mendoza found E.J. Williams for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Then, the Ducks would score what would already be referred to as a consolation touchdown, with Jay Harris finding the endzone from two yards out.
Moving into the fourth quarter, Indiana would further their lead through two more touchdowns. A final score from the Ducks to bring the game to an end did nothing to help restore any pride they had lost.
This meant that the Indiana Hoosiers had defeated the Oregon Ducks 56-22, advancing to the national championship game to face Miami.
This is another one-sided win for the Hoosiers, and there is a good chance that the Natty could be a similar affair. The game will be their first-ever appearance in a National Championship game, as they hope to cap off a historic season for the program that, a few years ago, was struggling to win games. As for Oregon, it is another missed opportunity to win a championship.
So the College Football National Championship game is set. The number one-seeded Indiana Hoosiers will face the Number 10 seeded Miami Hurricanes in Miami. This has the chance to be a thrilling game, and will be played on Monday, January 19th.