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Thursday night’s College Football Playoff semifinal features a pair of surprise teams with a shot at a national title. The 12-2 Miami Hurricanes earned a CFP bid despite being on the outside looking in for most of the back end of the season.

With wins over Texas A&M and Ohio State, the Canes have proven they are more than worthy of their bid. Mario Cristobal has successfully rebuilt the program, bringing Miami back to national prominence.

That said, the next steps in the rebuild are massive ones.

Ole Miss playing in this semifinal is unexpected. Just last month, the Rebels lost longtime head coach Lane Kiffin, who is now at LSU. Despite Kiffin wanting to coach his team through its playoff run, the Rebels are 2–0 without him — a record that includes an upset victory over Georgia, which beat Kiffin and the Rebels earlier this season.

Ole Miss’ semifinal berth is the product of a remarkable job by Pete Golding, who was hired as Kiffin’s defensive coordinator before the 2024–25 season and named Ole Miss’ permanent head coach shortly after Kiffin’s departure.

A big reason for Ole Miss’ success is how well quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has played in high-pressure situations. He threw for a season-high 368 yards and two touchdowns against Georgia, impressively making several plays after the pocket broke down. Running back Kewan Lacy added 98 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

On the other side, Miami’s defense has been the star of its playoff run — the Canes held Texas A&M to a season-low seven points. Against Ohio State, they picked off Julian Sayin twice, including a pick-six in the first half.

Defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. is the leader of Miami’s defense, which ranks fourth nationally in scoring defense and fifth in rushing defense. In his two playoff games, Bain has combined for four sacks, including 4.5 tackles for loss. Miami was listed as a 3.5-point favorite as of Tuesday night.

The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights for Miami vs. Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Follow below for complete results from the 2026 Fiesta Bowl.

STREAM: Watch Miami vs. Ole Miss live with Fubo (free trial)

Miami vs. Ole Miss football score

 

SN’s PLAYOFF HQ: Live CFP scores | Updated CFP bracket | Full CFP schedule

Miami vs. Ole Miss live updates, highlights from 2026 College Football Playoff semifinals 

All times Eastern. 

Miami 17, Ole Miss 13, 0:11 2nd quarter

9:18 p.m.: FIELD GOAL— Lucas Carneiro is money! He nails a 58-yarder to make this a four-point game at halftime.

9:17 p.m.: Heck of an effort by Chambliss here, who makes a few quick-strike throws to get Ole Miss in Lucas Carneiro’s field goal range inside the Miami 40. But a pair of incompletions including a near interception makes it a long 58-yarder. 

9:14 p.m.: Ole Miss’ defense forces a Miami three-and-out for the first time tonight, helped by a big sack on Carson Beck. The Rebels will likely go into the locker room down seven, and the Canes will get the ball coming out of halftime. 

9:08 p.m.: A quick three-and-out for Ole Miss, who is still without Kewan Lacy, dealing with that hamstring. Lacy’s backup, Logan Diggs, is not the same runner as Lacy, and it’s pretty evident.  

Miami 17, Ole Miss 10 2:18 2nd quarter

9:02 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN— Oh my, a busted coverage from Ole Miss in the secondary, and Carson Beck finds Keelan Marion on a 52-yard bomb for a touchdown. Marion was wiiiide open. 

What a play by Beck to stay patient in the pocket there! 

Miami 10, Ole Miss 10, 4:38 2nd quarter

8:55 p.m.: FIELD GOAL—Ole Miss is able to even things up here, with a 42-yard field goal from Lucas Carneiro. 

8:53 p.m.: Trinidad Chambliss finds Harrison Wallace III on a dart for 20 yards to get down to Miami’s 27. But on third down, Miami brings the house and forces Chambliss to throw the ball away. Miami looks like it got away with a late hit on Chambliss, though: 

 

8:50 p.m.: ESPN’s Laura Rutledge reports that Kewan Lacy is dealing with a right hamstring injury and has it heavily taped. Something to keep an eye on for sure, as his touchdown run is one of the few highlights of the night for Ole Miss on offense. 

Miami 10, Ole Miss 7, 7:09 2nd quarter

8:45 p.m. TOUCHDOWN— CharMar Brown runs it the middle four yards for the Miami score to give the Canes a three-point lead. 

Miami is just killing the time of possession battle. That last scoring drive was a 15-play, 75-yard one that took 7:41 off the clock. 

8:42 p.m.: Malachi Toney, folks. On 3rd down and 7, it looks like Ole Miss has him wrapped up and short of the line to gain, but he shakes free and continues upfield for a huge first down. 

What an effort! 

8:37 p.m.: On 3rd-and-7, Beck finds Elija Lofton downfield for an extra 15 yards and a first down to get down to Ole Miss’ 24. Miami calls a timeout. 

8:34 p.m.:  Carson Beck finds Joshua Moore on 2nd down and 10 for 11 yards, and Miami is back in Ole Miss territory.  

Ole Mss 7, Miami 3, 14:50 2nd quarter

8:29 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN—Hello, Kewan Lacy! He takes it 73 yards to the house to turn things around for this Rebel offense. 

8:27 p.m.: Hasn’t been the best start for Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebel offense, to say the least: 

End of the 1st quarter: Miami 3, Ole Miss 0

8:25 p.m.: Ole Miss is facing a 2nd-and-2 after an offsides penalty from Miami before the end of the 1st quarter. Still no first down for the Rebels’ offense yet! 

8:23 p.m.: Facing a 3rd-and-14, Mark Fletcher goes nowhere, and Ole Miss’ defense finally gets a stop. Miami was hurt by two penalties that drive, with a hold and a false start that backed the offense up. 

8:21 p.m.: Good news for Canes fans, as Malachi Toney pops out of the injury tent and is back onto the field. 

8:17 p.m.: Malachi Toney takes a big hit from Ole Miss’ Nick Kull, and it is flagged for targeting.

The refs review and and call no targeting, so Kull will remain in the game. Bad news for both teams though, as Toney and Kull both go into their respective injury tents. 

8:15 p.m.: Miami’s CharMar Brown rushes it eight yards on first down, setting up another clock-eating drive for Miami as it did in its first drive. Ole Miss’ defense could use a quick stop here, or this is going to be a long night. 

8:11 p.m.: Ole Miss goes three-and-out again, as Keionte Scott comes unblocked on a blitz to force Chambliss to get the ball out quick.

His pass falls incomplete, and the Rebels are forced to punt here. Not the start Pete Golding and Ole Miss’ offense was looking for! 

Miami 3, Ole Miss 0, 6:22 1st quarter

8:03 p.m.: FIELD GOAL—Miami strikes first, as a Carter Davis’ 38-yard field goal is good. A nice opening drive by Miami, and one that took a whopping 6:59 off the game clock.

  Miami’s winning the time of possession battle early, having the ball for 7:21 compared to Ole Miss’ 1:17. 

8:02 p.m.: Finally Ole Miss’ defense comes alive! Malachi Toney takes the direct snap on third down, but gets stopped by Kam Franklin to force fourth down. 

8:00 p.m.: On 3rd-and-1, Beck fakes the hand-off and finds CharMar Brown in the flat for a first down. Great opening drive for Miami here, and the Canes are winning on the line of scrimmage early. 

7:55 p.m.: Mark Fletcher runs in the tackles and gets a Miami tough first down.

Huge conversion for Shannon Dawson & company early. The Canes are at Ole Miss’ 40. 

7:54 p.m.: Next up, it’s Carson Beck and this Canes offense for the first time tonight. Although the Canes got down to midfield, Beck is stopped short on a scramble on third down. Miami is going for it on 4th and 2!  

7:50 p.m.: Facing a 3rd-and-4, Miami brings the house and Chambliss just has to throw it away. Unfortunately he gets flagged for intentional grounding on the play.

  Great start for Miami’s defense to force a three-and-out. 

Start of the 1st quarter: Ole Miss 0, Miami 0

7:45 p.m.: Ole Miss wins the toss and elects to receive, so we’ll get Trinidad Chambliss and this Rebel offense first. Let’s get this thing going! 

7:35 p.m.: The College GameDay crew minus Kirk Herbstreit, who is calling the game, likes Miami tonight: 

7:31 p.m.: We are nearing kickoff here! Who ya got in this one? Just one game left standing between a national championship game for both of these teams! 

7:15 p.m.: Miami will have some special honorary captains on-hand tonight, in Ray Lewis and Edgerrin Cooper: 

7:12 p.m.: Ole Miss is rocking the baby blues tonight: 

7:11 p.m.: Greetings, all! Who’s ready for some football? We are just over 30 minutes until kickoff, can’t wait to get this one started! 

6:30 p.m.: The stage is set from Glendale: 

MORE MIAMI-OLE MISS NEWS:

Where to watch College Football Playoff semifinals

Miami vs. Ole Miss start time

  • Date: Thursday, Jan. 8
  • Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

The Fiesta Bowl between Miami and Ole Miss will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The stadium’s capacity is 63,400, and nearly every seat should be filled as we approach kickoff. 

What channel is Miami vs. Ole Miss on today?

  • TV channel: ESPN
  • Live stream: Fubo 

The Fiesta Bowl will be broadcast nationally on ESPN, with Chris Fowler (play-by-play) and Kirk Herbstreit (color analyst) on the call from Arizona.

ESPN is once again producing its annual Megacast for the College Football Playoff featuring alternate broadcasts of the game across ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Radio and the ESPN App.

Fans looking to stream the game can turn to Fubo, which offers a free trial to new users.

MORE: Lane Kiffin suffers early transfer portal losses

College Football Playoff schedule 2026

Dec. 19

Game Matchup Time (ET) TV
First-Round CFP game Alabama 34, Oklahoma 24 8 p.m. ESPN

Dec. 20

Game Matchup Time (ET) TV
First-Round CFP game Miami 10, Texas A&M 3 12 p.m. TNT
First-Round CFP game Ole Miss 41, Tulane 10 4 p.m. TNT
First-Round CFP game Oregon 51, James Madison 34 8 p.m. ESPN

Dec. 31 

Game Matchup Time (ET) TV
Cotton Bowl Classic (quarterfinal) Miami 24, Ohio State 14 7:30 p.m. ESPN

Jan. 1

Game Matchup Time (ET) TV
Capital One Orange Bowl (quarterfinal) Texas Tech vs. Oregon 12 p.m. ESPN
Rose Bowl Game (quarterfinal) Indiana vs. Alabama 4 p.m. ESPN
Allstate Sugar Bowl (quarterfinal) Georgia vs. Ole Miss 8 p.m.  ESPN

Jan. 8

Game Matchup Time (ET) TV
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (semifinal) Miami vs. Ole Miss 7:30 p.m. ESPN

Jan. 9

Game Matchup Time (ET) TV
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (semifinal) Indiana vs. Oregon 7:30 p.m. ESPN

Jan. 19

Game Matchup Time (ET) TV
CFP National championship TBD 7:30 p.m. ESPN

MORE: Ranking the 2025 College Football Playoff semifinalists from first to worst

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