GLENDALE, Arizona — All Rueben Bain Jr. could do was pray.
The star defensive end had done his best to sack Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, but he could not get to him. Now the ball was in the air, sailing toward the end zone. If it hit the ground, Miami would play for the national championship. If a player in a powder blue Rebels jersey caught it, they would go to the title game instead.
“Once I (saw) that ball released,” Bain said. “I was just like, ‘Please, God. Please, God.’
“He listened.”
The ball sailed out of reach and out of the end zone. Miami won 31-27 and clinched a spot in its first championship game since the 2002 season.
“I just wanted to see the ball hit the ground,” offensive lineman James Brockermeyer said. “It was a very surreal moment, and I’m just really happy for our guys.”
It took a stunning series of events to get to that point in the game. Miami and Ole Miss traded punches in the back half of the fourth quarter. The Rebels took a two-point lead with a short field goal with seven minutes left.
The Hurricanes, who had run methodical drives all game, scored less than two minutes later on a 36-yard catch-and-run by Malachi Toney. They held that 24-19 lead for less than two minutes, as Chambliss tossed a touchdown pass to Dae’Quan Wright with just over three minutes left in the game.
The Hurricanes had one more drive in them, moving down the field and scoring what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on a 3-yard run by Carson Beck. When that drive was over, the Rebels had just 18 seconds to go 75 yards.
“We had a plan,” defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman said. “I think they had one timeout and basically we knew they needed a touchdown.”
Said linebacker Mo Toure: “Just trust in your brother. Trust in the man to your left and to your right, just knowing they’re going to get the job done and knowing your brother is going to do the best he can … to stop them from getting in the end zone.
But Ole Miss moved the ball quickly. The first play was a 23-yard pass to the Ole Miss 48-yard line. Then Chambliss connected on another pass to the UM 35. There was still time for one play: likely a heave to the end zone.
“It’s always weird,” Hetherman said. “You have years where we practice that play, and it never happens. Last year it happened twice. This year it hasn’t happened once. And now for it to come up and it’s almost to the point where the message during the week is like, ‘Guys, when we practice this on Thursday and Friday you can’t get bored because it may never happen but the one time it happens, everyone has to be detailed. Everyone has to be locked in. Everyone’s got to know exactly what their job is to finish the game.’”
Chambliss skipped out of the pocket, looking for an open man down the field. He threw to wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling, who was covered closely by cornerback Ethan O’Connor.
“Make that play. Make that play. Make that play,” wide receiver Keelan Marion said. “That’s all I was thinking. Make that play.”
The ball bounced out of the end zone. There were no flags on the field. Miami had won and is headed to the national championship game in Miami on Jan. 19.
