The Ole Miss Rebels took on the Miami Hurricanes on Jan. 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. They come up short in the Fiesta Bowl with a 31-27 loss.
First half
Ole Miss went three-and-out after electing to receive the ball. On Miami’s first drive, Ole Miss got them to third-and-eight, but they converted on fourth down to extend the drive.
On third-and-two, defensive end Kam Franklin came up with a huge tackle for loss and forced a 38-yard Miami field goal, 3-0 Miami.
The Hurricane’s drive took nearly seven minutes over 13 plays for 44 yards. The Rebel defense had a tough time making tackles but stood tall to prevent the game’s first touchdown.
The Rebels went three-out-and-out on the second drive. They just could not get anything going early on.
Miami marched down the field with ease against the Ole Miss defense. The Rebels were on their heels until a holding call against Miami, on what would have been an 18-yard pick up, pushed them to first-and-16. Ole Miss regrouped and forced a punt.
The Ole Miss offense totaled -1 yards on seven plays in the first quarter. The Canes had the ball for 12 minutes to the Rebels’ two.
On the first play of the second quarter, running back Kewan Lacy ran right down the middle of the lines for a 73-yard touchdown. Kicker Lucas Carneiro’s point after attempt was good and made the score 7-3.
Miami’s offense continued to push the Rebels, and a pass interference call on Ole Miss edge rusher Suntarine Perkins did not help.
Perkins failed to bring running back Mark Fletcher Jr. down. What could have been a one-yard gain and a field goal attempt, led to a fresh set of downs. Miami punched it in on the ground for a touchdown to make it 10-7.
The Ole Miss offense had only run eight plays to Miami’s 34 and managed one first down to their 11.
The Rebels had momentum after running back Logan Diggs had back-to-back nice plays, then a roughing the passer penalty gave the Rebels 15 additional yards. A 20-yard pass to wide receiver Harrison Wallace III had Ole Miss knocking on the door of the red zone.
Ole Miss settled for a 42-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 a piece. Notably, Lacy did not take a snap on the drive.
The Rebels pushed the Hurricanes to third-and-five but once again they converted to extend the drive. The receiver was wide open for an easy catch. Two plays later, Miami scored a 52-yard touchdown on yet another wide open receiver, 17-10 with two-and-a-half-minutes left in the half.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels were not playing well and were fortunate to only be down by a score. They went three-and-out on their next drive and punted the ball away.
The Rebel defense made their biggest play of the day on a first down sack by edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen to force second-and-18. The Rebels forced a punt and got the ball back with a minute to go.
Chambliss and his receivers moved down the field effectively on the final drive of the half. They were approaching field goal range with 24 seconds left. Ole Miss was unable to gain any more yards after Miami’s timeout and Carneiro came out to attempt a 58-yard field goal. He put it through the uprights, 17-13 Miami going into the half.
Lacy was not on the field for the Rebels final three drives. Ole Miss went into halftime down by nine to Georgia and came out of that game victorious. They would need to clean it up if they wanted to play in the National Championship.
Ole Miss only gained 145 yards in the first half. Tackling was a major issue in the first half. The defense failed on several occasions to bring the ball carrier down. Additionally, Miami was 5-of-9 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down, Ole Miss could not get the opponent off the field.
Second half
Miami got the ball to begin the second half. They converted on a third-and-long with a screen pass and got to midfield. The Ole Miss defense could not do anything right to open the half. Two first downs and two plays of 19 yards had Miami threatening to go up by two scores.
That was until an intentional grounding penalty pushed Miami to second-and-22. TJ dottery got to Beck to force his hand. On the next play, Miami ran for 14 yards to set up third-and-manageable.
The next play was incomplete and Miami attempted a 51-yard field goal and missed. It was eerily similar to the Georgia game where a very similar miss happened.
Lacy was back on the field to begin the half. On their first play, Chambliss found De’Zhaun Stribling for a 21-yard pick up. Cayden Lee caught a pass for a 12 yard pick up, then Chambliss was nearly picked off by a Hurricane who jumped the route.
The Rebel drive stalled and Carneiro came out for a 51-yard field goal attempt. The kick doinked off the post and gave Miami the ball back.
Miami converted on two third downs. The Ole Miss defense could not get off the field. A false start and a dropped pass forced third-and-13. Miami once again found a way to convert on fourth down.
Another Miami false start led to third-and-12, the Rebels batted the pass in the air and nickelback Kapena Gushiken intercepted the pass. Ole Miss got the ball back at their own 14-yard line.
The defense bent to the absolute maximum, but did not allow a point through two drives in the third quarter. It was up to the offense to regroup and take the lead.
Stribling made another huge catch. This time in the form of a 17-yard pass. Chambliss was looking for Wallace on a deep pass, but a Miami defender broke it up and nearly picked it off.
The Rebels looked good, but the Miami defense held firm. Carneiro came out for another field goal attempt. The 54-yard try hit the inside of the post, but went in for three, 17-16. Lacy did not have a carry in either drive in the third.
Ole Miss failed to tackle Miami, and the Canes closed in on the 50. Perkins came up with a huge sack to force third-and-17. The defense got to Beck on the play and sacked him for a three yard loss, Perkins and defensive tackle Will Echoles were credited with the sack.
The Miami punt was a good one and put Ole Miss at their 10-yard line.
The Rebel offense looked like its normal self on the prior drive, before it went south and stalled. They were down by one with 12 minutes left.
Lacy got the ball for the first time in the half and got Ole Miss a new set of downs. Tight end Dae’Quan Wright hauled in a 19-yard pass. The run game showed signs of life after Lacy got another first down.
After making a good push, Ole Miss found themselves at third-and-nine, but Chambliss converted on a bullet pass to Lee for a nice pick up. It was just the Rebel’s second third down conversion.
The Hurricanes were flagged for targeting which gave Ole Miss 15 additional yards and disqualified Miami cornerback Xavier Lucas. On the next play, Miami was flagged for a late hit on Lacy. The Rebels were first-and-five from the Miami eight.
Ole Miss was unable to put six points on the board and settled for a 21-yard field goal to make the score 19-17.
On Miami’s first play of the drive, Beck took a deep shot and was rewarded with a pass interference call to get 15 yards. The Hurricane ground game overpowered the Rebels and they were in Ole Miss territory after just three plays.
Miami found the end zone to make it 24-19 with five minutes left. Ole Miss needed a touchdown to stay in the game.
Wright caught a 21-yard pass to start the drive. The next two plays gained only two yards, and Ole Miss was third-and-eight from their own 48. Chambliss was looking for Wallace, but the pass was incomplete. Luckily, the referees flagged the Canes for pass interference and the Rebels got a new set of downs.
Chambliss took advantage of the flag and ran for 19 yards to put Ole Miss near the red zone. Wright found open space and caught a 24-yard touchdown pass to go up 25-24. The Rebels opted to go for it and tight end Caleb Odom was wide open for the conversion. Now, a Miami field goal would only tie the game, not win it.
Outstanding defense by safety Wydett Williams Jr. broke up a deep pass. Miami’s next play gained two yards and forced a third-and-eight, but a facemask penalty on Ole Miss gave the opponent a first down.
On the next third-and-long, Miami converted and got in the red zone. There was just 37 seconds left in the game with the Canes at Ole Miss’ 19-yard line. A first down put Miami at the Ole Miss eight.
Beck ran the ball in with no opposition and took the lead. The PAT put Miami up by four. Ole Miss, with 18 seconds remaining and one timeout, would need a touchdown to win.
With one play, Ole Miss found themselves at midfield. They spiked the ball and had another good pick up to be within striking distance of the red zone with just six seconds remaining. The pass deep into the end zone was incomplete.
The Rebel storybook season comes to an end after a 31-27 loss to Miami.
