The Ole Miss Rebels lost 31-27 to the Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl, but it was an effort that earned the University of Mississippi an "A-" grade. It came down to one final Trinidad Chambliss heave, and the Canes got away with pass interference in the end zone on the call. Still, "The U" earned its place in the national championship, and it was hard fought to say the least.
The Indiana Hoosiers also earned their place in the CFP title game, but their opponent, the Oregon Ducks, didn't receive the same rave reviews. CBS Sports' David Cobb gave the Ducks an "F" for their 56-22 embarrassment in the Peach Bowl on Friday night.
Cobb called Oregon's failed revenge bid on Indiana's 30-20 regular season win at Autzen Stadium an "absolute nightmare."
"Oregon collapsed under the weight of three devastating first-half turnovers that left it in a 35-7 halftime hole. The Ducks' misery began with a pick-6 on the first play from scrimmage to start a nightmare showing for quarterback Dante Moore. The redshirt sophomore also fumbled deep in Oregon territory twice in the second quarter to essentially hand the Hoosiers a pair of touchdowns. It was an absolute nightmare for a Ducks team that failed miserably in its quest to redeem a regular season loss against Indiana. The defense sacked IU quarterback Fernando Mendoza just once and struggled mightily in the red zone," Cobb wrote.
Ole Miss goes down in CFP history despite semifinals loss
As Cobb said, "It was still a gutsy effort from the Rebels, who stayed in it until the end and represented themselves well in concluding a wild and historic season with a heartbreaking defeat." This was a great effort by the last SEC team standing, but an even better story.
Despite most of their coaching staff prepping for a job switch to the LSU Tigers to join Lane Kiffin in Baton Rouge, the Rebs pulled together to upset the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl, and even notched a 31-point home win over the Tulane Green Wave. It will go down as the greatest season in program history, and Chambliss will go down as Ole Miss's version of Cam Newton.
The Rebels fanbase now has a claim only the Texas Longhorns share: their team made the final four of a 12-team CFP field.