It’s hard to find the good in a loss. After all, it wouldn’t be a loss if the good was good enough.
It’s especially hard after a season-ending, heart-breaking loss like Ole Miss had in a 31-27 loss to Miami in a College Football Playoff semifinal game.
The Rebels certainly didn’t play their best game, but even with the things that went wrong, Miami never led by more than seven points. They always had a chance at winning because some things did go right.
Here are three of the things that went right for Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl:
Pass protection
Of the many storylines discussed coming into the Fiesta Bowl was the stellar play of Miami’s two best pass rushers, Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain Jr.
In Miami’s first two CFP games against Texas A&M and Ohio State, the duo tallied 18 combined tackles, 7.5 sacks and eight tackles for a loss. For a lot of defensive linemen, edge players that’d be a great season stat. They did it in two games and were big reason why Miami won those games.
Bain and Mesidor weren’t big reasons why Miami beat Ole Miss, though. The Rebels held the duo to five tackles, no sacks and no TFLs.
In fact, the Ole Miss offensive line gave up just one sack and run for negative yards. And the offense did average 6.6 yards per play and 5.8 yards per run.
Overall, not a bad game from the Rebels’ front line. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss helped too, escaping multiple blitzes or getting rid of the ball quickly. Speaking of Chambliss…
Chambliss passing
Ole Miss fans should be praying heavily the NCAA grants Chambliss’ request for another year of eligibility. Chambliss didn’t have his best game of the season Thursday night, completing 23-of-37 passes for 277 yards and one touchdown. But his ability to escape pressure and make (mostly) accurate throws was a big reason Ole Miss had a shot at winning the game.
Even his final pass of the night, the incompletion to De’Zhaun Stribling in the end zone, was put in about the best spot possible. Stribling did get a hand on it.
Chambliss was also extremely lucky. Miami defensive backs dropped four interceptions, including one pass that bounced off three defenders’ hands. Any one of those being caught is a game-changer.
Again, it wasn’t Chambliss’ best game as a Rebel and when you’re on the losing end there’s always feeling of “could’ve/should’ve done more” lingering.
But he’s done enough that if his waiver is granted, Chambliss will be right next to Arch Manning in Heisman betting odds next season.
Miami penalties
Things could’ve gotten out of hand at multiple points in the Fiesta Bowl. What if Miami scores points on its second drive instead of punting? What if Miami picks off one of those four passes? What if Ole Miss doesn’t pick off its only opportunity?
What really hurt Miami, though, was the self-inflicted penalties. They came on both sides of the ball. There were multiple false start penalties, putting Miami behind the sticks and facing long distances to gain first downs.
There were the defensive penalties that kept Ole Miss drives alive. A roughing the passer penalty in the second quarter gave Ole Miss a first down and moved the Rebels into Miami territory for the first time.
There were the three penalties in the fourth quarter that ended with Ole Miss taking a 19-17 lead on a Lucas Carneiro 21-yard field goal. Two of those penalties came on third-and-longs, keeping the Rebels’ drive alive.
If the game had a different outcome, these Miami penalties would be much more widely discussed. But the Hurricanes played clean when it matter the most. Their last penalty came with 12:19 in the fourth quarter.
