The No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels take on the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. The Fiesta Bowl kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET in Glendale, Arizona.
The Hurricanes are listed as 3.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at O/U 52.5 points. Below is my full preview, prediction and best bet for this College Football Playoff matchup.
Miami vs. Ole Miss prediction, preview
Miami Preview
The Hurricanes have been the Cinderella of the College Football Playoff. They were road underdogs in College Station in the first round of the CFP and found a way to win, despite only scoring ten points. It was a great win for Mario Cristobal’s squad, but they were massive underdogs in the quarterfinals against Ohio State. The Hurricanes’ defense repeated its incredible performance and knocked off the defending champions to advance to this game. Carson Beck has not created much explosive offense, but he has played clean football and delivered when his team needs a third-down conversion. The Hurricanes’ defensive line is capable of slowing down any offense in the country, and if Carson Beck keeps playing clean football, the offense can score enough to secure a win.
Ole Miss Preview
While Miami is the Cinderella of the CFP in terms of being the biggest longshot, Ole Miss is the best story of the postseason. The team went through massive drama with Lane Kiffin’s departure for LSU. It was unclear if the Rebels would even be prepared for their opening round game against Tulane. Ole Miss dominated that game, but it was thought that it could just be too big a talent gap, and the team was taking out some anger on the Green Wave. At halftime of the Georgia game, with Ole Miss trailing by two possessions, it looked like the Rebels’ season had come to an end. However, the way that Pete Goulding’s unit responded in the second half to beat Georgia proved that they are here to stay and serious contenders. The Rebels are now just one win away from the national title game, with Lane Kiffin sitting at his desk in Baton Rouge.
Miami vs. Ole Miss Pick
My best bet for this game is for Ole Miss to cover as 3.5-point underdogs. The Rebels were fantastic all season, but there was concern about how the coaching would be without Lane Kiffin. Kiffin is one of the best coaches in the country at coaching to win the game by going for it on fourth down, not kicking field goals and using timeouts correctly. Pete Goulding has shown that he coaches the same way. The most impressive part of the playoff so far is Goulding out-dueling Kirby Smart with his second-half adjustments.
While Miami has been phenomenal in the College Football Playoff, Mario Cristobal has a reputation as one of the worst coaches in the country at clock management. If this is a tight game down the stretch, Goulding has shown himself to be more trustworthy than Cristobal. Trinidad Chambliss was unbelievable against Georgia and should make the game-changing plays to win this game for Ole Miss.
