The U Thwarts A Buckeye Repeat

Here we are again, Texas.

Back together for another chapter of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

It is hard to believe it has been almost a full calendar year since the Ohio State Buckeyes' victory over the Texas Longhorns in the College Football Playoff Semifinals, right here in Arlington, Texas.

Fast forward to this the 2025-26 college football season and Ohio State is in the Cotton Bowl once more, this time for the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Round, and against a different foe in the Miami Hurricanes.

After Ohio State won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half, Miami would take the first drive of the game just three plays before punting the ball away.

Defensive end Akheem Mesidor would make sure to stop the Buckeyes on just three plays as well when he sacked quarterback Julian Sayin for a 10-yard loss on 3rd-&-7.

The first first down of the night would come on Miami's second possession, when quarterback Carson Beck would find running back Mark Fletcher, Jr., for a 16-yard pass play on 2nd-&-6.

Miami would gain another first down on this drive thanks to a completion from Beck to wide receiver CJ Daniels for 13 yards on 3rd-&-9.

However, Fletcher would fumble the ball inside the Buckeyes' redzone. The fumble was forced by defensive end Caden Curry and recovered by linebacker Payton Pierce.

Miami's defense would show up after the offensive turnover, forcing Ohio State to punt for the second time on as many drives.

This would be followed by Fletcher redeeming himself when he caught a pass from Beck and got into the end zone on a 3rd-&-1 attempt that ended in a nine-yard score to make it 7-0 Hurricanes at the 13:31 mark of the second quarter.

On the first play of their third drive of the game, Sayin aired out to wide receiver Jeremiah Smith for a 59-yard pass play that moved the Buckeyes to the Hurricanes' 16-yard line.

But, immediately following that big offensive gain, defensive end Rueben Bain, Jr., sacked Sayin for a loss of six yards and then defensive back Keionte Scott intercepted Sayin, taking the ball back to the house for a 72-yard defensive touchdown that made it 14-0 Miami at the 11:49 mark.

Mesidor would get his second sack of the game on Ohio State's fourth drive when he got to Sayin and put a WWE-style move on him that got him to the ground, resulting in a 13-yard loss.

This fourth drive would conclude with the Buckeyes' punting for a third time.

On the Hurricanes' fifth drive of the night, Beck decided to trust his feet, gaining three yards on 3rd-&-3 for a new set of downs.

However, the officiating crew wanted to take a look to see if Beck actually made it to the first-down marker.

After review, the officials deemed Beck short of the first down, bringing up fourth down and a half a yard needed for a new set of downs.

Not even needing a full yard, Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal elected to punt the ball away from his own 31-yard line.

Miami's defense would not allow Ohio State past their own 10-yard line, forcing the Buckeyes to punt for a fourth time on five drives.

On the Hurricanes' sixth drive of this Cotton Bowl, Cristobal would choose to go for it on fourth down, this time on 4th-&-2 from the Buckeyes' 36-yard line. Beck would find wide receiver Malachi Toney for a six-yard completion to secure the first down on this play.

Ohio State's defense, however, would show up to end this Miami drive after sacking Beck for a four-yard loss thanks to defensive end Eddrick Houston, followed by linebacker Sonny Styles getting to Toney for a six-yard loss after his reception, and lockdown one-on-one defense on the 3rd-&-20 that ensued.

The Hurricanes would punt the ball away as a result, but their special teams would get to the ball to down it at the Buckeyes' two-yard line.

With 1:30 to go before halftime, Ohio State would achieve four first downs on their sixth drive.

On 4th-&-2 from the Miami 31-yard line, Buckeyes' kicker Jayden Fielding missed a 49-yard attempt.

Miami would take over on their own 31, down the ball, and head into the break pitching a shutout, 14-0.

Beck finished the first half 14-for-18 for 98 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.

Sayin was 11-for-20 for 157 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.

Fletcher led all running backs with 44 yards, achieving this on 12 carries (3.7 yards per carry).

CJ Donaldson was atop all Buckeyes at the break with 16 yards on two carries (8 yards per carry).

Daniels led the Hurricanes with 36 yards on four catches, while Jeremiah Smith led all receivers with 82 yards on three catches.

Miami's defense had three sacks to Ohio State's one and one interception to none by Ohio State in the first half.

On the heels of accumulating just a few yards on the ground in the first half, Buckeyes' running back Bo Jackson achieved 31 yards on Ohio State's opening drive of the second half.

Miami defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot would attempt to slow down this drive when he sacked Sayin for a four-yard loss following Jackson's 18-yard run.

But the Buckeyes would not let up, gaining four first downs on their first possession of the third quarter, and getting into the end zone for the first time on the night, with Jackson fittingly gaining the final yard needed after carrying the ball well throughout the possession. This brought the score to 14-7 Hurricanes with 8:05 left in the third quarter.

Jackson had 10 yards on four carries in the first half. On this drive to start the third quarter, he made five carries for 35 yards, including his one-yard touchdown run.

On the third-to-last play of the Hurricanes' first drive of the second half, Beck was sacked by Styles for a loss of one yard.

The next play would be a completion from Beck to Toney where safety Caleb Downs would force Toney to fumble. Toney would not miss a beat, grabbing the ball in midair after it bounced off the ground to keep possession.

Carter Davis would then come on to attempt a 49-yarder, the same distance Fielding had attempted a field-goal try from, and from the same side of the field, but unlike Fielding, Davis made it, moving Miami back ahead by two scores, 17-7, with 3:01 remaining in the third quarter.

There were only three drives in total in the third quarter, and the second by the Buckeyes saw them achieving a new set of downs three times, including a 22-yard pass play from Sayin to Jeremiah Smith that brought Ohio State to Miami's 22-yard line.

This second drive of the second half by the Buckeyes would continue into the fourth quarter, where they, on the third play of the final quarter, would go for it on 4th-&-2.

Jeremiah Smith would catch the fourth down pass attempt from Sayin, cutting diagonal from left to right for a 14-yard score that made it 17-14 Hurricanes with 13:28 to go in the game.

Beck would save Miami's second drive of the second half when he carried the ball himself for all 11 yards needed on third down, getting to his own 35.

Nevertheless, they would have to rely on their defense to make a stop when they punted the ball to the Buckeyes shortly after.

On Ohio State's third drive of the second half, Sayin would be sacked by linebacker Wesley Bissainthe for a loss of nine yards, bringing up 3rd-&-15. The Buckeyes would gain all of that plus a yard when Sayin found Jeremiah Smith for a 16-yard pass play that achieved a new set of downs.

Following an incomplete pass, Ohio State would be flagged for holding, moving back 10 yards for a 2nd-&-20 attempt from their own 38.

Sayin's pass would fall incomplete on second down, bringing up 3rd-&-20, and a short pass to follow would gain minimal yards, leading to a punt by the Buckeyes. Ohio State would re-punt after being flagged five yards for an illegal formation and Miami would signal for a fair catch, taking over at their own 30-yard line with 5:56 remaining.

On the initial play of their next drive, Fletcher would carry the ball 19 yards for a first down by midfield, at the Buckeyes' 49-yard line.

Shortly after, on 3rd-&-3, running back CharMar Brown caught a pass from Beck for five yards and another first down.

At the two-minute timeout, the Hurricanes were knocking on the door of the Buckeyes' redzone, at the 25-yard line.

On 3rd-&-4, Daniels would catch a short pass from Beck and head forward for a 13-yard gain to the Buckeyes' seven-yard line with 1:46 remaining.

With second down and goal to go, Brown carried the ball over the Ohio State threshold for a five-yard rushing touchdown to make it 24-14 with 55 seconds left in the Cotton Bowl.

Sayin would be pressured on the next drive, releasing the ball as the sack attempt by Lightfoot was coming in. How did this end? With safety Jakobe Thomas intercepting Sayin to close out the night.

The victory moves the Hurricanes onto the College Football Playoff Semifinal Round in the Verbo Fiesta Bowl where they will face the winner of the Allstate Sugar Bowl between the Georgia Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels.

Beck finished the Cotton Bowl 19-for-26 for 138 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.

Fletcher led all running backs on both teams with 90 yards, those coming on 19 carries.

Daniels ended atop all Hurricanes with 49 yards on five catches.

Miami had five sacks and two interceptions as a team.

Sayin was 22-for-35 for 287 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions for Ohio State.

Jackson led the Buckeye backfield with 55 yards on 11 carries, including a touchdown.

Jeremiah Smith totaled 157 yards to lead all receivers, achieving that on seven catches, which included his touchdown play.

Ohio State had two sacks in the game and no interceptions.

In this game, Beck set the new record for consecutive completions in a Cotton Bowl game, with 13.

Downs' two forced fumbles against Miami were the most forced fumbles in any game inside the 10+ year history of the College Football Playoff.

The announced attendance for this College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl was 71,323.