GLENDALE, Ariz. — Didn’t you know? At the height of the craze in the ever-evolving animal world that is college football, the Miami Hurricanes have decided to reintroduce some old-fashioned nostalgia.
By winning the match nevertheless.
Everyone, take a deep breath and enjoy a momentary respite from your life as a nouveau riche. While Miami takes you on a nostalgia tour through the centuries, cash is king of the game.
A work that almost died before reaching a beautiful ending.
The Dagger was the game-clinching drive that ended with Carson Beck’s 3-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left. That’s not the only story of Miami’s 31-27 Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal victory over Ole Miss.
The evolution was complete until Miami knocked down the final shot into the end zone from Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
After more than two decades away from the national elite, Miami is finally back. Even if it almost blows the game in the middle.
This was as much about Miami’s dominance as it was about the Canes’ inability to finish and avoid disaster. But everything that coach Mario Cristobal has preached in his four seasons in Coral Gables, and what he’s played out in this season of redemption, was on display when it mattered most.
Despite the mistakes, penalties and missed scoring opportunities, Miami ended up where it said it would be in August: back in South Florida for the national championship game.
The Canes did it the old-fashioned way by lining up Ole Miss on both sides of the ball and punishing them physically. At this point, who cares if they nearly gave the game away and it took a 75-yard drive to get it done?
Cristobal’s plan from day one worked, putting Miami among the nation’s elite. Even if they beat almost everything in the most important games of the season.
Remember the good old days, right? When players weren’t paid (legally anyway), universities hoarded cash and players were free to move from starters to the bench.
And when Miami, with its best players and coaches, accomplished whatever it wanted in a 20-year run that rivaled anything this sport had ever seen. Until a man named Saban showed up.
But this Miami team has a lot of Nick Saban, a lot of the things that made Miami great and led them to five national titles from 1983-2001. Cristobal played under Jimmy Johnson at Miami, winning a national title, and coached under Saban at Alabama, where he also won a championship.
He is now on track to finally bring Miami back into the game’s elite and possibly end a 25-year national title drought. By adopting the formula used by Johnson and perfected by Saban and imposing its will on anything that gets in its way.
It is a very well-developed formula that can withstand human error. A missed field goal, an interception at the Ole Miss 15, a poor play call that tried to throw the ball away when it couldn’t stop the run game.
The Canes couldn’t put a stop to the game until a nail-biting drive late in the fourth quarter when a key throw by Beck and a well-timed scramble led to a touchdown. The devastating reaction finally ended Ole Miss’ magical run in the CFP.
And for old-school students, it’s a bonus. It happened on a day when former Ole Miss coach and current college football villain Lane Kiffin lost twice. Once when his former team faced a physically dominant Miami team, and once earlier in the night when Washington quarterback Damond Williams decided to remain in Seattle instead of playing for the highest bidder (see LSU and Kiffin).
Score one for the old school students.
Matt Hayes is a senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X @MattHayesCFB.
