With just days to go before Miami steps onto the Cotton Bowl stage, the Hurricanes are staring down their toughest test in over two decades - a College Football Playoff quarterfinal clash with the reigning national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes. It’s a massive moment for the program, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Let’s not sugarcoat it: this is a different animal than the first-round win over Texas A&M. Ohio State brings a level of physicality and discipline, particularly on defense, that few teams in the country can match. The Buckeyes are deep, experienced, and stingy - especially up front, where All-American defensive tackle Kayden McDonald has been a wrecking ball all season long.
McDonald’s resume speaks for itself: 57 total tackles, eight for loss, three sacks, and two forced fumbles - all career highs. He’s not just productive, he’s disruptive.
The junior was part of last year’s title run, so the bright lights of the CFP aren’t going to faze him. He’s been here before, and he knows how to make his presence felt.
That’s where Miami’s offensive line - and specifically right guard Anez Cooper - comes in. Cooper, a senior and one of the emotional leaders of this Hurricanes squad, knows exactly what’s coming.
“He’s a great player,” Cooper said of McDonald. “He comes off the ball well, so that’s a good thing for him. We’re excited to compete and go toe-to-toe with him.”
And that’s the kind of mindset Miami needs. Because this game, like so many at this level, will be won or lost in the trenches.
If the Hurricanes can keep quarterback Carson Beck upright and give him time to operate, they’ve got a shot. But that’s a big “if” against a Buckeyes front that thrives on collapsing pockets and shutting down rushing lanes.
Speaking of the run game, Miami leaned heavily on Mark Fletcher Jr. in the win over Texas A&M. The freshman back was a workhorse, especially when the offense struggled to find rhythm through the air.
But counting on Fletcher to carry the load again - this time against the top-ranked rushing defense in the country - is a tall order. Ohio State allowed just 1,098 rushing yards all regular season.
That’s elite-level stuff, and it means Beck and the passing game are going to have to shoulder more of the burden this time around.
Still, if there’s one thing this Miami team has shown, it’s resilience. That win over the Aggies wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty.
The conditions were tough - swirling winds that made special teams a nightmare, a hostile road crowd, and an offense that sputtered outside of Fletcher’s contributions. But the Hurricanes never wavered.
“I feel like we just stayed together the whole game,” Cooper said. “Nobody ever looked left and we always stayed right. Us just being able to have no breakdown as a team, nobody looking down at each other, but just staying with high energy and being positive the whole game - that pulled us together for the win.”
That kind of cohesion matters in games like this. When the margin for error is razor-thin, belief and chemistry can be the difference between moving on and going home.
Now, Miami finds itself in a true “prove-it” moment. The Buckeyes are the standard - the defending champs, the team everyone else is chasing. If the Hurricanes want to show they belong among the sport’s elite, this is the kind of game they have to win.
“To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” as the saying goes. And come New Year’s Eve, the Hurricanes will get their chance.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 31 in Arlington, Texas.
One step away from the semifinals. One shot to shake up the college football world.