Ohio State Falls to No. 10 Miami, 24-14, in College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl

By Dan Hope on December 31, 2025 at 10:50 pm
Ryan Day
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Ohio State’s bid to defend its national championship is over after one College Football Playoff game.

  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4  
#2 Ohio State 0 0 7 7 14
#10 MIAMI 0 14 3 7 24
DEC. 31, 2025 • AT&T STADIUM • ARLINGTON, TEXAS

After getting shut out in the first half for the first time in nine years, the Buckeyes’ second-half comeback effort fell short as they were upset by No. 10 seed Miami, 24-14, in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Cotton Bowl.

Ohio State finishes the year 12-2 with losses in its last two games of the year, also falling to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game, after going unbeaten in the regular season.

Scoring Summary
Qtr Time Team Result Play Details OSU MIA
2 13:31 MIA TD 9-YARD PASS, CARSON BECK TO MARK FLECTHER 0 7
2 11:49 MIA TD 70-YARD INTERCEPTION RETURN, KEIONTE SCOTT 0 14
3 8:05 OSU TD 1-YARD RUn, BO JACKSON 7 14
3 3:01 MIA FG 49-YARD KICK, CARTER DAVIS 7 17
4 13:28 OSU TD 14-YARD PASS, JULIAN SAYIN TO JEREMIAH SMITH 14 17
4 0:55 MIA TD 5-YARD RUn, CHARMAR BROWN 14 24

Key Moments

Q2, 13:31: Beck finds Fletcher for Miami’s first touchdown

After outgaining Ohio State 110 yards to nine in the first quarter, Miami scored the game’s first points early in the second quarter as they capped off a 13-play, 83-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Carson Beck to Mark Fletcher, who beat Sonny Styles on a creative play design.

Q2, 11:49: 70-yard pick-six by Keionte Scott 

Two plays after Ohio State made its first big play of the game on offense with a 59-yard deep ball from Julian Sayin to Jeremiah Smith, Miami nickelback Keionte Scott picked off Sayin on a screen pass intended for Smith with a clear path to the end zone for a 70-yard touchdown to make it a 14-0 game.

Q3, 8:05: Jackson scores on opening drive of second half​

Ohio State did exactly what it needed to do on its opening drive of the second half to get back in the game, driving 82 yards on 11 plays with Bo Jackson running for a 1-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-goal to score the Buckeyes’ first points of the night.

Q3, 3:01: Miami’s Carter Davis makes 49-yard field goal

While Ohio State kicker Jayden Fielding was unable to make a 49-yard field goal at the end of the first half, Miami’s Carter Davis was able to make a 49-yard field goal in the third quarter, extending the Hurricanes’ lead back to 10 points.

Q4, 13:28: Sayin and Smith connect for fourth-down touchdown

Facing 4th-and-2 at the 14-yard line, Ryan Day opted to go for it rather than have Fielding attempt a 32-yard field goal. The decision worked as Sayin found Smith on a pass that went for a 14-yard touchdown, cutting Miami’s lead to three.

Q4, 1:46: Beck and Daniels connect for crucial third-down conversion

Needing a stop to extend the game, Ohio State surrendered a 13-yard gain on a short pass from Beck to CJ Daniels, all but sealing the victory for the Hurricanes.

Q4, 0:55: Brown scores 5-yard touchdown

Knowing it needed the ball back to have any chance at all, Ohio State let Miami running back CharMar Brown run for a 5-yard touchdown, giving the Hurricanes a commanding two-score lead with 55 seconds left to play.

Q4, 0:43: Sayin picked off

Jakobe Thomas picked off Julian Sayin on a deep heave to officially seal the win for Miami.

Team Stats

OHIO STATE      MIAMI
332 TOTAL YARDS 291
45 RUSHING YARDS 153
24 RUSHING ATTEMPTS 37
1.9 AVERAGE PER RUSH 4.1
1 RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 1
287 PASSING YARDS 138
22-35 COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS 19-26
13.0 YARDS PER COMPLETION 7.3
1 PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 1
18 1st DOWNS 18
59 TOTAL PLAYS 63
5.6 YARDS PER PLAY 4.6
3-10 3RD DOWNS 7-14
2-15 PENALTIES 0-0
26:40 POSSESSION 33:20
2 TURNOVERS 1

Game Notes

  • Ohio State is now 7-5 all-time in the College Football Playoff, 3-3 vs. Miami and 3-2 in the Cotton Bowl.
  • Ohio State is now 0-3 all-time in games played on New Year’s Eve, also losing to Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff semifinals and to Georgia in the 2022 CFP semifinals.
  • Ryan Day is now 0-2 as a head coach vs. Mario Cristobal, who also beat Day as Oregon’s head coach when the Ducks defeated Ohio State at Ohio Stadium in 2021.
  • Gabe VanSickle made his first career start at right guard in place of Tegra Tshabola, who missed the game due to injury. Joshua Padilla replaced VanSickle late in the first half.
  • Ian Moore replaced Austin Siereveld at left tackle in the second half. Siereveld was seen limping in the first half and did not return in the second half.
  • Lorenzo Styles Jr. suffered an apparent shoulder injury in the first quarter and did not return. Jermaine Mathews Jr. moved to nickel after his departure, with Devin Sanchez entering the lineup at cornerback when the Buckeyes had three cornerbacks on the field.
  • Eddrick Houston made his fourth start of the season as he started the game over Tywone Malone Jr. at defensive tackle.
  • Carson Beck broke a Cotton Bowl record with 13 straight completions between the first and second quarters.
  • Miami was the first team to reach 17 points against Ohio State this season.
  • Jeremiah Smith had his sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season.
  • Caleb Downs was the first player to record two forced fumbles in a College Football Playoff game.
  • Miami defensive tackle Ahmad Moten was helped off the field with an apparent lower-body injury in the third quarter.
  • The first accepted penalty of the game came on a hold by Ohio State right tackle Phillip Daniels with 7:15 to play.
  • 71,323 people attended the game.
  • Miami is the first double-digit seed to reach the CFP semifinals.

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