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.
After Jeremiah Smith’s 14-yard TD catch on a pass from Julian Sayin made it 17-14 with 13:28 to go, 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.
No. 13 Texas 41, No. 18 Michigan 27
Arch Manning passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two more to lead the Longhorns past the Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., in a matchup of teams who had eyes on the College Football Playoff as late as the regular season’s final weeks.
Manning, named Citrus Bowl MVP, completed 21 of 34 passes for 221 yards and rushed for 155 on nine attempts for the Longhorns (10-3). Manning joined his famous uncle Peyton as a Citrus Bowl MVP. The elder Manning played in the game in back-to-back seasons for Tennessee and won MVP honors in a victory over Northwestern on Jan. 1, 1997.
Christian Clark took over the ball-carrying duties with four Texas running backs opting out of the contest and he rushed for 105 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.
Bryce Underwood completed 23 of 42 passes for 199 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for 69 yards and a score for Michigan (9-4).
No. 23 Iowa 34, No. 14 Vanderbilt 27
Mark Gronowski threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to help the Hawkeyes overcome a late surge to beat the Commodores in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Fla.
Gronowski, who won back-to-back FCS national titles at South Dakota State (2022, 2023) before spending his final season with the Hawkeyes (9-4), completed 16 of 22 passes for 212 yards and an interception, adding 54 rushing yards. Selected the game’s Most Valuable Player, Gronowski extended his own NCAA wins record, finishing his collegiate career with 58, the most at any level.
The Commodores (10-3) scored four of the final five times they touched the ball after tallying just three first-half points. Heisman runner-up Diego Pavia was largely muted in the first half before awakening in the second half to finish with 347 passing yards and a team-high 36 rushing yards to account for a combined three scores in his final collegiate game.
No. 15 Utah 44, Nebraska 22
Devon Dampier accounted for five touchdowns and 458 yards of total offense and the Utes scored 37 consecutive points to beat the Cornhuskers in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Utah (11-2) ended a five-game bowl losing streak and scored a win in Morgan Scalley’s coaching debut. Scalley, Utah’s defensive coordinator since 2016, was promoted to head coach after Kyle Whittingham resigned. Whittingham was expected to coach the game but left earlier in the week to join Michigan.
Nebraska (7-6) lost its third straight game and fourth out of five after a 6-2 start. TJ Lateef threw for 182 yards, a TD and an interception and ran for a score.
Duke 42, Arizona State 39
Darian Mensah’s fourth touchdown pass of the day went to Que’Sean Brown for 17 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:10 remaining as the Blue Devils held off the Sun Devils to win the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
Brown caught the ball behind the line of scrimmage and made his way down the left sideline for his second TD of the game as the Blue Devils (9-5) followed their Atlantic Coast Conference championship with another postseason triumph. Mensah was 29 of 51 for 327 yards, with Brown making 10 catches for 178 yards and two TDs — all game highs. Nate Sheppard rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
Arizona State quarterback Jeff Sims threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more. He was 27 of 38 for 375 passing yards. Jalen Moss collected 129 receiving yards with a touchdown on five catches, and Jason Brown Jr. rushed for 120 yards for the Sun Devils (8-5).
