Miami's 31–27 win over Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff semifinals really should not have been that close. The Hurricanes dominated the game by several measures, racking up a whopping 41:22 time of possession, holding the Rebels to 2-for-10 on third down conversions and running 28 more offensive plays than the guys from Oxford. But a litany of mistakes kept Ole Miss in the game and nearly cost Miami a trip to the national championship. One final error—blatant pass interference by Miami defensive back Ethan O'Connor—went unpunished and allowed the Hurricanes to escape with the victory.
Miami dominated the first half much more than the 17–13 halftime score would indicate. The Hurricanes held the ball for nearly 23 of the game's first 30 minutes. Kewan Lacy's 73-yard touchdown run accounted for 50% of the Ole Miss offense's first-half yardage. The Rebels didn't run a single play in the red zone.
Ole Miss hung around, though, thanks to a mistake-filled second half by the Hurricanes. Miami's opening drive of the second half resulted in a missed field goal after quarterback Carson Beck's failure to understand the rules resulted in a 12-yard loss on an intentional grounding penalty. (The Hurricanes had attempted a flea flicker, and when the Rebels weren't fooled, Beck threw the ball away. Since he'd given up possession of the ball on the hand off to the running back, he no longer had the right to throw it away without penalty.) The mistake put Miami well behind the sticks and effectively killed the drive. Kicker Carter Davis missed a 51-yard field goal attempt.
A flukey interception on a pass that was deflected at the line helped Ole Miss cut the deficit to 17–16 and highlighted Miami's inability to come up with a turnover. By my count, Hurricanes defenders dropped at least four passes that could have easily been intercepted.
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