Hurricanes head home for title shot

Miami will play for championship on own turf after beating Ole Miss in Fiesta Bowl.

- By JOHN MARSHALL

MIAMI'S Zechariah Poryser (7) and Ethan O'Connor (24) break up a Hail Mary pass to Mississippi's De'Zhaun Stribling on the final play.

(Ross D. FRANKLIN Associated Press)

Miami’s return to relevance was a long, winding road filled with more downs than ups.

Even when the Hurricanes rejoined the national conversation, they were doubted, told they didn't belong.

Through it all, they kept chugging along — straight into the national championship game.

Carson Beck scrambled for a three-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left, and Miami will head back home for a shot at its first national title since 2001 after beating Mississippi 31-27 in an exhilarating College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.

“We never flinched,” said Beck, who threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. “In the face of adversity, when we had to respond, we responded.”

The 10th-ranked Hurricanes (13-2) didn’t play in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game and were a somewhat controversial CFP pick — at least outside of South Florida — yet proved they belong.

Miami held Texas A&M and reigning national champion Ohio State to a combined 17 points to reach the CFP semifinals. Then the Hurricanes shut down the high-scoring Rebels (13-2) for three quarters in the desert before pulling it out in a wild fourth quarter.