By William Armstead
The quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff (CFP) was nothing less than exciting and shocking. The two-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes fell to the Miami Hurricanes, a game that most analysts expected Ohio State to handle easily. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin threw two interceptions, with one of them being a crucial 72-yard pick-six to Miami’s Keionte Scott. This put the Buckeyes down by two scores at halftime after a missed field goal.
Ohio State star wideout Jeremiah Smith recorded 157 receiving yards and a touchdown. As for Miami, quarterback Carson Beck went 19/26 with 138 yards and a touchdown while Mark Fletcher Jr. led the Canes on the ground, almost reaching 100 yards on the day. This game was eye-catching, especially since Miami was on the cusp of not being selected for the CFP, and Ohio State being seen as a team that could win it all since the beginning.
Ole Miss avenged their loss from earlier in the season against Georgia, winning 39-34. Ole Miss was without their head coach from the entire season, Lane Kiffin, because of his acceptance for the head coaching job at LSU. This did not hinder the Rebels, however, and they came back to beat the Bulldogs after being down by two scores at the half.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, threw for a whopping 362 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. Running back Kewan Lacy recorded two touchdowns of his own on the ground. The Rebels had two wideouts over 100 yards, Harrison Wallace III with 156 and De’Zhaun Stribling with 122.
Kicker Lucas Carneiro went three for three on his field goal attempts, with two of those being over 50 yards. He kicked a 47-yarder to give the Rebels the lead with only six seconds remaining. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton recorded two rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown.
Ole Miss battled considerable adversity in this game, also suffering from a missed facemask call that would have given the Rebels a first down late and a questionable pass interference call that favored Georgia.
Indiana silenced any doubters about them not being the best team in the nation by blowing out SEC powerhouse, Alabama, 38-3, to remain undefeated. Heisman trophy winner and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza only had two incomplete passes and threw for three touchdowns. Alabama could not stop Indiana’s run game either, with Kaelon Black rushing for 99 yards and a touchdown and Roman Hemby rushing for 89 yards and a touchdown. Three different Indiana receivers had a receiving touchdown on the day.
As for Alabama, quarterback Ty Simpson was sidelined after suffering a broken rib and believed backup Austen Mack would give the Tide the best chance to win. The Tide could not get anything rolling offensively while the Hoosiers were on fire.
Indiana will rematch the Oregon Ducks in the CFP semifinal, who easily handled Texas Tech. Indiana won 30-20 in their first meeting earlier in the season. Ole Miss will be up against Miami in Arizona.