Urban Meyer was confident Ohio State would roll in the Cotton Bowl, even claiming Miami wouldn’t score on the Buckeyes’ defense. Instead, the Hurricanes brought nonstop pressure and flipped the game on its head. It forced Meyer to quickly shift gears and reminded everyone that the Canes are going to be a problem.

“Miami is a problem,” Meyer said on The Triple Option podcast. “I’m a huge fan of Mario Cristobal. That defense is legit, legit. They controlled the line of scrimmage, and that was a great win for them.”

It was the complete opposite of what Urban Meyer said before kickoff. “I just don’t see Miami scoring,” Meyer said. “If Ohio State scores two touchdowns, they win that game. And I still believe that.”

Well, that prediction aged poorly. Urban Meyer essentially wrote Miami’s offense out of the script, and the Hurricanes made him pay. Miami dominated Ohio State up front from the opening snap. Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain Jr. led a vicious pass rush that sacked QB Julian Sayin five times and held the Buckeyes to just 45 rushing yards. The game flipped in the second quarter when Keionte Scott took an interception 72 yards for a touchdown to make it 14–0.

From there, it was smash-mouth football. Mark Fletcher Jr. earned MVP honors with 90 hard yards, finishing things off with an eight-play, all-run touchdown drive that sealed it. Fans quickly roasted Meyer on social media, saying, “Urban’s predictions need work.” He made a similar call before Ohio State’s Big Ten title game against Indiana, and that didn’t go well either. Now the question is simple: can Miami do it again?

The Rebels may be the higher seed, but the Cotton Bowl already proved that rankings don’t matter much against this Miami team. Just ask Texas A&M, which watched the Hurricanes walk into College Station and grind out a 10–3 win earlier this season. Miami heads to the Fiesta Bowl leaning on its defense. The Hurricanes have allowed just 10 points to Texas A&M and 14 to Ohio State in the playoffs and haven’t given up more than 26 all season.

Ole Miss brings serious firepower, averaging 37.6 points per game and coming off a 39-point, 473-yard performance against Georgia. QB Trinidad Chambliss has been excellent under pressure, with big-play weapons in Harrison Wallace III, De’Zhaun Stribling and a strong run game led by Kewan Lacy. Oddsmakers have Miami opening as a three-point favorite, but opinions remain split. Others think Ole Miss has just enough offense to pull the upset. Either way, Miami has already shown that predictions don’t mean much once the ball is kicked.

One loss doesn’t change anything

Ohio State’s Cotton Bowl flop against Miami may have stung. But AD Ross Bjork’s response made it clear the program is treating the setback as a strategic pivot rather than a trigger for panic. “As we move ahead, the Circle of Care is well established. And our program is built on the People, the Tradition, and the Excellence, and those core values will never change,” read the statement that Bjork tweeted on January 2.

By explicitly saying that Ryan Day is “the best leader in college football.” With that review, he removed any doubt about the head coach’s short‑term future. That backing matters because it signals to recruits, donors, and current players that the Buckeyes are not entering a rebuild. Bjork leans heavily on financial backing in his plan.

Ohio State plans to spend more than $35 million on football NIL in 2025, with roughly $20.5 million in new NCAA settlement revenue sharing helping offset a nearly $38 million deficit from fiscal year 2024. He tied this spending to a “best-in-class strategy.” New Big Ten media deals add further fuel, ensuring the Buckeyes can keep pace with or outspend, national peers.

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The Cotton Bowl itself showed why those resources must turn into results on the field. The Buckeyes were a 9.5 favorite, but it was the Hurricanes that dominated upfront. Without Brian Hartline, Day took over play‑calling. But the offense sputtered early, managing just nine yards and one first down in the opening quarter while Miami suffocated runs and erased Carnell Tate with tight coverage.

Day publicly owned the failure, saying, “We didn’t get it done. That starts with me,” a crucial tone as the program confronts its own standards.