College Football Playoff semifinals 2025: Takeaways from every game

We can only hope that the second semi-final is as good as the first semi-final.

Thursday night at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, miami Saw multiple leads disappear, dropped potential interceptions, committed penalties and still made it to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. 31-27 victory over ole miss,

carson beckA 3-yard touchdown run made the difference, but it was a wonderful back-and-forth affair until the end.

As we prepare for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl between Indiana and Oregon on Friday evening, here are the key games and takeaways from the incredible first semifinal.

What just happened?

Miami paid millions of dollars to bring Beck to town, and in the drive that would define his season with the Hurricanes, he rushed them 75 yards for the winning touchdown and sent them to the national title game. Money well spent, huh?

Beck’s 3-yard touchdown scramble with 18 seconds remaining capped a crazy fourth quarter that featured four lead changes and even saw Ole Miss drive close enough for a shot in the end zone on the final play.

The Hurricanes possessed the ball for most of the game – time of possession after three quarters: Miami 33:50, Ole Miss 11:10 – but dropped four potential interceptions, missed a field goal and threw a pick in Rebels territory. Given extra lives, Ole Miss took the lead twice in the fourth quarter, the first lucas carneiroFourth field goal of the evening, then on a 24-yard touchdown pass trinidad chamblis To dequan wrightBut with four third-down conversions, Beck guided the Canes down the field and won the game,

effect plays

There aren’t too many big plays for or against Miami sports, but there have been some big swings due to smaller plays.

kevan lacyA 73-yard burst early in the second quarter – Ole Miss’s first good offensive play of the game – gave the Rebels a sudden 7–3 lead. Lacy suffered a hamstring injury and missed most of the next two quarters before returning, but the touchdown bought Ole Miss some time.

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Ole Miss’ Kevan Lacy broke free for a 73-yard TD.

Kevan Lacy ran untouched for a 73-yard touchdown to give Ole Miss a 7–3 lead.

Miami took the game back in its favor. Keelan Marion A bomb against busted coverage at the end of the first half made the score 17-10. After producing only 69 receiving yards in his first two playoff games, he was the semifinal star of the Miami receiving corps by catching seven passes for 114 yards.

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Miami’s Carson Beck connects with Keelan Marion for a 52-yard go-ahead TD

Carson Beck hit a wide-open Keelan Marion who went into the end zone to put the Hurricanes back on top.

Carneiro’s three field goals – including a 58-yarder at the end of the first half and a 52-yarder in the third quarter – would push the Rebels back, but they missed a golden opportunity for first-and-goal after a pair of Miami personal fouls (the Canes had 10 penalties on the evening). Ole Miss gained only 4 yards on three plays and took a 19–17 lead, which vanished within two minutes Malachi TonyA 36-yard screen pass burst.

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Miami took the lead on Malachi Toney’s 36-yard TD run.

Malachi Toney gave Miami the lead by escaping a tackle en route to a 36-yard touchdown.

Ole Miss took its third lead in the fourth quarter with Wright’s touchdown run but left plenty of time for Beck and the Canes. They made the most of it, gained the lead and broke the Hail Mary.

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Miami wins after Ole Miss’ Hail Mary attempt falls incomplete

Trinidad Chambliss passes one to the end zone, but it is far away and incomplete.

See you next time, rebels

One of the most exciting and headline-grabbing Ole Miss seasons in recent history ended with two straight down-to-the-wire thrillers. Despite waves of headlines regarding Lane Kiffin’s possible move to LSU, the Rebels continued to play great ball and earn a playoff bid by winning their last four games of the regular season by an average of 38–14. And despite Kiffin leaving town and trying to take his assistants with him before Ole Miss’s season ended, the Rebels defeated Tulane in the playoffs, came back from trailing by nine points at halftime to defeat Georgia in the quarterfinals, then nearly defeated Miami.

Several of the Rebels’ stars made big plays on Thursday night. Chambliss threw for 277 yards and a touchdown and used a spectacular 19-yard scramble to set up Ole Miss’s last go-ahead touchdown. Lacy rushed for 103 yards on just 11 carries, re-entering the game after a hamstring injury and grinding out tough yards. leading receiver D’jaun Stribling And Harrison Wallace III Combined for nine catches and 117 yards while a junior. caden lee Had a big performance (five wickets for 67 runs) and Wright took three big catches, all in the second half. Carneiro’s big foot shines again. On the rescue, suntaryn perkins Had 1.5 sacks and linebacker TJ Daughtry and safety wydette williams jrMade big plays early on during Miami’s last drive that might have been remembered differently with a different ending,

Kiffin’s departure left Pete Golding inheriting a seemingly impossible situation, but Ole Miss closed ranks and came very close to earning a spot in the national title game. Even better, stars like Chambliss (if he’s granted an extra year of eligibility) and Lacey have already committed to staying in Oxford despite Kiffin’s efforts to bring them to Baton Rouge. Some stars have exhausted their eligibility, but Ole Miss is looking forward to 2026 full of hard work and upside.

what will happen next

Miami will officially play for its first national title in 23 seasons. The Hurricanes’ chances against Indiana or Oregon will be weak, but they will be playing in their home stadium, and they have to feel like a patent team of luck right now. Close games have sometimes been a big issue for the Canes under Mario Cristobal, but in their last three contests, they have won with a late end zone stop at Texas A&M, defeated Ohio State by 10 with clutch execution and found a way to edge Ole Miss despite so many bounces going against them.

Beck had a bad start to the second half but showed great form late on. Mark Fletcher Jr.Had a great performance again, rushing for 133 yards, charmer brown He was again a hard-yardage master, rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown. Marion was a secret weapon, and talented freshman Tony set up a touchdown with a tough third-down conversion in the first half and scored a field goal himself in the fourth quarter.

The defense couldn’t stop Chambliss, only recording one sack, but the Canes allowed only one big run to Lacey and the running backs. And they were completely dominated in the third: Ole Miss got only 2 out of 10, while the Canes got 11 out of 19. The rebels were almost credited with the victory anyway, but Kane controlled most of the things he wanted to control. They caught the ball beautifully, and while that couldn’t win them the game, they stepped up the pace and scored consecutive victories in the final quarter.