Pick-6 helps No. 10 Miami KO No. 2 Ohio State, advance to CFP semis
Carson Beck passed for 138 yards and a touchdown as No. 10 seed Miami upset No. 2 seed and defending champion Ohio State 24-14 in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday.
Miami (12-2) will play either No. 3 Georgia (12-1) or No. 6 Ole Miss (12-1) in a semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz. The Bulldogs and Rebels meet on Thursday in the Sugar Bowl at New Orleans.
In the two years of the CFP 12-team playoff, all five teams to receive first-round byes lost.
The Hurricanes stunned the Buckeyes (12-2) with a 14-0 halftime lead on the strength of a 9-yard touchdown catch by Mark Fletcher Jr. and a 72-yard pick-6 by Keionte Scott. Fletcher also ran for 90 yards in the game.
It was a dominant first quarter for the Hurricanes though neither team scored. Miami had 110 yards (56 rush, 54 pass) compared to 9 yards for Ohio State, including minus-1 yard on the ground.
The Hurricanes finally broke through with an 83-yard drive that used 13 plays and consumed 8:04 to make it 7-0 less than two minutes into the second quarter on the Fletcher catch.
Scott then read a screen pass perfectly and went the distance to double the margin.
The Buckeyes cut the deficit to 14-7 midway through the third quarter on a 1-yard run by Bo Jackson after an 11-play, 82-yard drive, but Carter Davis nailed a 49-yard field goal to make it 17-7 with 3:01 to go in the third.
A Jeremiah Smith 14-yard TD catch on a pass from Julian Sayin made it 17-14 with 13:28 to go. However, the Hurricanes marched 70 yards to wrap it up when CharMar Brown ran in from the 5 with 55 seconds left.
Sayin completed 22 of 35 passes for 287 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions while Smith made seven catches for 157 yards.