Today: Reaction from all four College Football Playoff quarterfinal games.

~10.5 minute read (2,184 words)

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

Ole Miss takes down Georgia, reclaims the narrative from Lane Kiffin

NEW ORLEANS – Lane Kiffin built it, then he left it, and the Ole Miss coaches and players who stayed are hellbent on finishing it.

As in finishing a football season that's been as insane as it's been historic for the Rebels.

"I believed we could be here before the season started," Ole Miss linebacker TJ Dottery said. "Now, after our head coach left us right when we were about to go to the playoff, I don't know that anybody would have believed it."

In a four-plus-hour Sugar Bowl that felt like college football distilled to its most unhinged form, Ole Miss strengthened its case as one of the sport's great modern stories with a 39-34 win over Georgia in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal that had a little bit of everything.

Perhaps fittingly, given the messiness surrounding Kiffin's departure for LSU on Nov. 30, nothing about the ending was conventional. Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro drilled a 47-yard field goal with six seconds remaining to break a tie, setting off a postgame celebration that had to be paused — twice — while officials (who had no shortage of controversial calls throughout the game) sorted out the final seconds. A Georgia lateral on the ensuing kickoff resulted in a safety. Officials added time back to the clock. Georgia recovered an onside kick. A final play featured a flurry of laterals before quarterback Gunner Stockton was finally dragged down.

When it was finally over, Bourbon Street filled with Ole Miss fans through the night, celebrating a team that has spent the last month as an afterthought amid coaching rumors, staff uncertainty, and constant noise.

"It's different guys every game," center Brycen Sanders said. "We lean on each other. We trust each other."

The Rebels (13-1) have defied expectations at every turn. Their QB, Trinidad Chambliss, was playing Division II football last season. They lost significant defensive production to the NFL. And nearly all of November revolved around where Kiffin might coach next.

"Probably too much has been said about (Kiffin)," defensive end Kam Franklin said. "We'll let our work speak for us."

That work spoke loud on Thursday. Chambliss threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns. Ole Miss rolled up 473 total yards against a Georgia defense that had not allowed more than 10 points in any of its previous four games. After trailing 21-12 at halftime, the Rebels won the line of scrimmage in the second half, weren't sacked once, and limited Georgia to 39 rushing yards after the break.

Behind the scenes, the situation remains as unusual as ever. Several assistants who followed Kiffin to LSU are still around the program in some capacity, though how long that lasts is unclear.

And Kiffin himself was not in attendance, but is still scoring big (financially) from Ole Miss' postseason run due to clauses in his LSU contract.

Through it all, newly promoted head coach Pete Golding has kept the team centered, now 2-0 in the role and two wins from a national championship. Ole Miss will face Miami in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal on Jan. 8.

Asked if he could imagine another team enduring what Ole Miss has the past five weeks, quarterbacks coach Joe Judge laughed.

"I hope not," he said. "But seeing how they've stayed together has been great."

Players win games. And Ole Miss just keeps winning.

Read the full column from Chris Low.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

Indiana continues remarkable run under Curt Cignetti by blasting Alabama with no end in sight

PASADENA, Calif. – Two years after sitting near the bottom of college football, Indiana continued its remarkable turnaround and relentless march toward history by overwhelming Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl.

In 2023, Indiana was 3-9. The Hoosiers were a punchline. "It was demoralizing," junior offensive tackle Carter Smith said.

Everything changed in 2024 when Indiana hired Curt Cignetti, a 62-year-old lifer who arrived from James Madison without a Big Ten pedigree. Smith still remembers his first meeting with the new coach and how different it felt. Cignetti leaned back, feet on the table, and immediately set a new tone. Not what Smith was used to. But maybe exactly what Indiana needed.

What followed has become one of the most dramatic program flips the sport has seen. Indiana went from losingest program in college football history to a College Football Playoff contender in two seasons. On Thursday night, they looked nothing like a Cinderella. The Hoosiers bullied Alabama from the opening kick and broke the will of Alabama.

"That's the best way to do it," Cignetti said. "Running the football."

Indiana's dominance only grew as Alabama unraveled. Quarterback Ty Simpson played through a fractured rib before being pulled in the second half. The offense never found traction with Simpson or backup Austin Mack, and the struggles drew pointed commentary on the broadcast. Kirk Herbstreit questioned Alabama's energy and effort as the deficit ballooned and later encouraged Simpson to return for another college season rather than entering the NFL Draft.

While Alabama searched for answers, Indiana kept piling on. Fernando Mendoza continued to carve up the Crimson Tide, and the Hoosiers controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The contrast was jarring. Herbstreit described Alabama as "just existing" defensively as Indiana pulled away.

What Cignetti has accomplished defies a traditional arc. After years of grinding through Division II and lower-profile jobs, including dressing in locker-room showers and scrambling for game film, he arrived in Bloomington with total belief. That belief has now produced a 16-0 run that sits two wins from a national title.

Indiana's rise is already reshaping the program off the field as well. Cignetti's contract includes clauses triggered by this postseason run that force renegotiation talks following the CFP semifinals.

Indiana's players insist there is no trick to it. Just trust. Cignetti demands excellence and backs it up. The Hoosiers bought in from day one.

"There's no catch," Smith said.

Better than any team in college football this season, Indiana proved it Thursday night.

Read the full column from Brett McMurphy.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

This Miami team is Mario Cristobal's blueprint brought to life — and it could win a national title

ARLINGTON, Texas — When the sun rose on New Year's Eve and anticipation for the Cotton Bowl built, it was easy to feel nostalgic for 2002, when Ohio State and Miami played a double-overtime thriller for the BCS national championship. More than 20 years later, the programs met again in the College Football Playoff, and social media predictably resurfaced the iconic Keith Jackson introduction.

It turns out we all got the year wrong.

This was not 2002. It was 2006.

That was the year Ohio State entered the national title game as a heavy favorite and ran headfirst into a Florida team that was bigger, stronger, and faster at the line of scrimmage. In AT&T Stadium on Wednesday night, the Miami Hurricanes delivered a modern version of that lesson, beating Ohio State 24-14 by winning the game where it still matters most.

In the trenches.

Defensive ends Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain teed off on Ohio State's offensive line, turning the game into a slog rather than the high-scoring dome shootout the Buckeyes are accustomed to in the postseason. Quarterback Julian Sayin was hit repeatedly, sacked five times, and rarely allowed to settle in. He had been taken down just six times all regular season.

This game was closer than Florida–Ohio State in 2006. Ohio State had the ball in the fourth quarter down just three points, with a chance to flip the outcome. But as was the case nearly two decades ago, the Buckeyes did not have the lines to finish the job.

This is Mario Cristobal's vision coming to life. Cristobal is an offensive line coach through and through, shaped during his years working for Nick Saban at Alabama and reinforced at every stop since. When he arrived at Miami, his first tentpole recruits were linemen. Against Ohio State, that investment paid off.

Miami's physicality defined the night. The Hurricanes limited Ohio State to 30 percent on third down, bottled up the run, and forced two interceptions, including a pick-six that swung momentum before halftime. After the game, Cristobal called his players "some tough a** sons of b*tches."

When Ohio State surged back in the second half, Miami never flinched. On its final possession, the Hurricanes closed the game by running the ball straight through the Buckeyes' defense. As Cristobal later put it, his team was willing to take hits, get back up, and keep showing up when it mattered most.

That edge was not lost on Saban, who heaped praise on the Canes after the game. Even Cristobal's in-game decision-making, often a point of criticism, drew national attention when he traded jabs with Saban on GameDay the next morning.

There was nostalgia on the sideline as well, with Michael Irvin going wild with his "BTA" celebration.

Miami nearly missed the College Football Playoff altogether, spending weeks locked in a debate over its worthiness. Now, after outmuscling the defending national champions, the Hurricanes move on to the Fiesta Bowl, where they'll face Ole Miss.

If Miami was this good in the trenches against OSU, it has a chance to do it again against Ole Miss. And maybe, just maybe, beyond.

Read the full reaction from Ari Wasserman.

🚨Headlines

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

A more complete Oregon showed Texas Tech how roster-building is supposed to work

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Oregon linebacker Bryce Boettcher was answering a question about how the Ducks had uncovered new contributors while working through injuries this season when he redirected the conversation toward roster construction.

"I think we've got the best overall team," Boettcher said two days before the Orange Bowl. "They might have some stars, and we've got some stars. But stars don't win you games. Team wins you games."

Boettcher, who had spent the week studying Texas Tech's offense, likely already understood what became obvious Thursday afternoon. Texas Tech built an impressive defense through an aggressive transfer-portal spending spree, but it failed to balance the roster on the other side of the ball. Against an elite opponent, that imbalance was fatal. The Ducks exposed every crack in a 23-0 win that sent the Ducks to the Peach Bowl.

The game felt like a distorted mirror image of Mike Leach's old Texas Tech teams. Those Red Raiders could score in bunches, but couldn't defend against elite competition. This version could smother the run and blanket receivers, but it couldn't move the ball against a defense stocked with future NFL players.

Texas Tech's defense was every bit as advertised. Stanford transfer David Bailey was disruptive off the edge. UCF transfer Lee Hunter controlled the interior. Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez ranged sideline to sideline. The offseason work done by general manager James Blanchard, backed by donor Cody Campbell, produced a legitimately elite unit.

The problem was that Oregon's defense was just as good, and Oregon had answers elsewhere. Edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei ripped the ball from quarterback Behren Morton and returned it deep into Texas Tech territory to set up the game's first touchdown. Cornerback Brandon Finney Jr. intercepted Morton twice and recovered a fumble, snuffing out any hope of momentum.

Oregon's offense didn't overwhelm statistically, largely because Texas Tech's defense prevented it. But it did enough. Quarterback Dante Moore completed 26 of 33 passes for 234 yards, extending plays with his legs and making smart decisions. Tight end Kenyon Sadiq and running back Noah Whittington converted key third downs, keeping the ball away from a Texas Tech offense that couldn't afford wasted possessions.

That offense never found its footing. Receivers struggled to separate. J'Koby Williams flashed with a few runs, but the Red Raiders couldn't string plays together. Their deepest threats came in the fourth quarter and ended the same way: Oregon winning at the line of scrimmage and in coverage.

Oregon has been building toward this kind of roster for nearly two decades. Chip Kelly chased skill talent. Mario Cristobal fortified the lines. Dan Lanning imported Georgia's blueprint, stacking high school talent and supplementing surgically through the portal. The result is a team that can win any kind of game, even a rock fight.

Texas Tech won the Big 12 and reached the Playoff, so its strategy worked. But to take the next step, it needs to evolve.

Next year, the Red Raiders need to buy an offense, too.

Read the full column from Andy Staples.

TRIVIA

Now here's a guy...

Below, you'll find 3 facts about a random college football player. You'll try to guess who the player is based on the facts. Let's go.

I burst onto the scene in the SEC as a freshman and earned first-team Freshman All-American honors after multiple 100-yard games.
As a sophomore, I caught 88 passes for more than 1,500 yards, became a Biletnikoff Award finalist, and helped lead South Carolina to its first-ever SEC Championship Game.
After my college career, I went on to a long NFL career, winning Super Bowl LII with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Answer at the bottom.

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