ARLINGTON, Texas — Keionte Scott returned an interception 72 yards for a touchdown, Carson Beck threw a scoring pass and No. 10 Miami shocked defending champion Ohio State 24-14 on Wednesday night at the Cotton Bowl in the first College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
The No. 10 Hurricanes (12-2) have won two playoff games to get into football’s final four after needing an at-large berth to make the 12-team field, even without playing in the ACC championship game. One more win and they will get to play for a national championship in their home stadium.
«We knew coming into today that it wasn’t going to be easy,» Beck told ESPN after the game. «That’s a damn good football team on the other side right there. It was a battle. It took all four quarters until the very last minute. And I’m just so proud of how we fought adversity and continued to fight throughout the game.»
Julian Sayin, then had a wide-open field to sprint untouched to the end zone for a 14-0 lead with 11:49 left in the first half.
That came only 1:42 after Beck’s quick pass to Mark Fletcher Jr. coming out of the backfield for a 9-yard score.
Beck, who was part of Georgia’s national titles in 2021 and 2022 when Stetson Bennett was the starter, completed 19-of-26 passes for 138 yards. The TD throw to Fletcher, who also ran 19 times for 90 yards, was the seventh of 13 consecutive completions for Beck to set a record in the Cotton Bowl, which was played for the 90th time.
«Whoever doubts him, that’s fine,» Cristobal said of Beck. «He’s got to continue to prove himself. (He) is a great teammate, a great competitor and a true Miami Hurricane.»
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 five times.
AP All-America receiver Smith, the Miami native, caught seven of those passes for 157 yards, including a 14-yard TD on a fourth down in the fourth quarter.
Carter Davis added a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter and CharMar Brown ran for a 5-yard TD in the game’s final minute for the Hurricanes, whose 24 points were the most Ohio State gave up this season.
Information from ESPN’s David Purdum and The Associated Press was used in this report.
