Where Miami's thrilling 2026 Fiesta Bowl win over Ole Miss ranks among all-time greatest CFP games

Blowouts often command most of the online attention when it comes to discussing the College Football Playoff. It is true that a majority of playoff games, at this point, have ended in lopsided fashion. But when you put the best teams in the sport in one bracket, with national glory on the line, there's bound to be some bangers. 

The 2025-26 College Football Playoff has seen its fair share of entertaining games. In fact, the most recent installment between No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 10 Miami in the Fiesta Bowl will go down as one of the best postseason games ever. 

The Hurricanes triumphed in a 31-27 thriller to secure their first national title game appearance in over two decades. But where does the Fiesta Bowl rank among the best College Football Playoff games of all time? 

'Vindicated' Carson Beck books Miami's home date for CFP title game with legacy-defining final drive

Brandon Marcello

Here's a rundown of the top 10 clashes since the playoff began in 2014. 

10. 2015 CFP National Championship: Alabama 45, Clemson 40

Another game in which the fourth quarter took this from a battle between goliaths to a Clash of Titans. Clemson entered the final frame with a 24-21 advantage, which Alabama quickly erased with a 33-yard field goal. Then, the Crimson Tide converted on a successful onside kick and pulled ahead with a 51-yard touchdown connection between quarterback Jake Coker and tight end O.J. Howard. 

Those were 10 of the 40 combined points scored between Alabama and Clemson in the fourth quarter. There wasn't a single punt for the final 12:54 of action. Alabama was able to maintain a fairly comfortable lead after running back Kenyan Drake returned a kick 95 yards for a touchdown. His fellow running back and Heisman Trophy winner, Derrick Henry, carried the ball 36 times for 158 yards and a trio of scores. 

9. 2024 Sugar Bowl: Washington 37, Texas 31 

First off, Texas defensive lineman Byron Murphy II had a rushing touchdown, so that automatically qualified this game for a top 10 spot. It just so happens that everything else that happened around Murphy's touchdown was pretty awesome, as well. Washington and Texas traded blows in the first half and entered halftime tied 21-all. 

That's when the upstart Huskies put their foot on the gas. They went on a 13-0 run between the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter open up a two-possession lead, and then held off a late rally from the Longhorns, who failed to convert on fourth down with the final possession of the game to advance to their first official national title game appearance in program history. 

8. 2024 Rose Bowl: Michigan 27, Alabama 20 (OT)

College football fans were gifted with a pair of banger semifinal games to wrap the 2023 season. Michigan and Alabama went back-and-forth for the entire game, but it's really the final five minutes of regulation and overtime that elevate this to one of the greatest postseason clashes to ever grace the sport. Down 20-13 with 4:41 left on the clock, Michigan embarked on an eight-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 4-yard touchdown connection between quarterback J.J. McCarthy and wide receiver Roman Wilson to tie it up. 

Alabama was forced to punt on its next drive, Michigan muffed the ball at its 1-yard line and then wisely drained the clock after recovering its own mistake. In overtime, Michigan got the ball first and handed it twice to running back Blake Corum, who scored from 17 yards out. Alabama responded by moving the ball to Michigan's 1-yard line, where quarterback Jalen Milroe was stoned on a fourth-and-goal rushing attempt. Michigan went on to win its first national title of the BCS/CFP era. 

7. 2026 Fiesta Bowl: Miami 31, Ole Miss 27 

An instant classic in a playoff filled with solid games. Miami opened up a 17-10 lead late in the second quarter when quarterback Carson Beck hit wide receiver Keelan Marion for a 52-yard touchdown against busted coverage. Ole Miss slowly pulled ahead again with three straight Lucas Carneiro field goals, including a 54-yarder near the end of the third quarter that doinked in off the left upright. 

The two then combined for 22 points in the last seven minutes of regulation. Beck threw a screen to Malachi Toney, who took it 36 yards for a touchdown. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss then answered with a 24-yard passing touchdown of his own. Beck then sealed the deal with an improbable 3-yard touchdown run, his first touchdown on the ground since September. Ole Miss covered 40 yards in less than 12 seconds on its last possession to set up a realistic Hail Mary attempt, but Chambliss' toss fell incomplete. 

6. 2022 Fiesta Bowl: TCU 51, Michigan 45 

The Cinderella Horned Frogs affirmed their status as a legitimate national contender with a thrilling win against a heavily favored Michigan team. It's impressive that TCU didn't score for the last 10 minutes of regulation but still put 51 points on the board. Instead, the Horned Frogs leaned on their defense -- and a few crucial Michigan mistakes. 

McCarthy and Wilson connected on a 5-yard touchdown with 3:18 left to play to cut TCU's lead to 51-45, and then Michigan forced a punt with less than a minute on the clock. The Wolverines had trouble moving the ball from their own 25-yard line and a botched snap ended any hope they had of converting on fourth-and-10. The Fiesta Bowl's 96 combined points are the second-most in CFP history. 

5. 2025 Peach Bowl: Texas 39, Arizona State 31 (2OT) 

Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo had a lot of Heisman Trophy voters second-guessing their respective choices after he put on one of the most heroic individual performances the College Football Playoff has ever seen. He turned in 284 yards of total offense. He rushed for two touchdowns and threw another. He pounded his way into the end zone for a key two-point conversion that tied the game at 24 in the fourth quarter and eventually sent it to overtime. 

Alas, it wasn't enough. An interception from Texas' Andrew Mukuba brought Arizona State's second-overtime possession, and its playoff run, to an abrupt end. 

4. 2022 Peach Bowl: Georgia 42, Ohio State 41

Ohio State lost star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. on a brutal hit, but it still entered the fourth quarter with a 38-24 lead over the Bulldogs. Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett's 76-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Arian Smith, and a successful 2-point conversion, brought the Bulldogs within a touchdown and they eventually took a 42-41 lead when Bennett hit Adonai Mitchell for a 10-yard score with less than a minute left in the final frame. 

Though momentum had fully swung against it, Ohio State wasn't out of the game. A 27-yard scramble by quarterback C.J. Stroud -- the third-longest of his career -- put the Buckeyes in realistic field goal range. With time ticking away, kicker Noah Ruggles attempted a 50-yard boot ... that didn't even come close to the uprights as it hooked left. Ruggles' miss was also notable for the fact that it lined up exactly with the clock striking midnight to mark New Year's Day 2023. 

3. 2016 CFP National Championship: Clemson 35, Alabama 31 

A rare instance in which the sequel was better than the original. A year after Alabama rode a fourth-quarter surge to down Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship, the Tigers got their revenge. Quarterback Deshaun Watson torched the Tide with 36 completions for 420 yards and three touchdowns. 

Four Clemson receivers finished with at least 90 yards receiving. Hunter Renfrow had a game-high 10 catches, but none were more important than his 2-yard touchdown reception with one second left in the fourth quarter that sealed the deal for his Tigers. 

2. 2018 CFP National Championship: Alabama 26, Georgia 23 (OT) 

Facing a 13-0 deficit at halftime, Alabama coach Nick Saban made a major change: he benched starting quarterback Jalen Hurts in favor of highly touted but still incredibly green freshman Tua Tagovailoa. Over the next 30 minutes, Tagovailoa cemented himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks in college football. 

He led the Tide on a 20-0 run in the second half and got them in game-winning field goal range late in the fourth quarter, though kicker Andy Pappanastos' 36-yard attempt missed. In overtime, Tagovailoa answered Georgia's field goal -- and a 16-yard sack on the Crimson Tide's first play -- with a 41-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver DeVonta Smith, a fellow true freshman with a bright future of his own. 

Tagovailoa finished the game with 166 yards passing and three touchdowns in less than three quarters of play. 

1. 2018 Rose Bowl: Georgia 54, Oklahoma 48 (2OT)  

Georgia and Oklahoma set a bar for playoff games that still has yet to be surpassed. The stars aligned for this to be an incredible game. Two of college football's most storied progams, loaded with NFL talent, met in the sport's most venerated venue with a trip to the national title game on the line. 

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns while distributing the ball to the likes of Hollywood Brown, CeeDee Lamb and Mark Andrews. Georgia running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel combined for 326 yards rushing and six total touchdowns. Ultimately, it was a 27-yard Michel touchdown scamper that handed Georgia the win in two overtimes after Oklahoma missed a field goal. 

The 2018 Rose Bowl also featured a 21-0 second-half run from Georgia, a 75-yard touchdown run from Michel and four touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a fumble returned for a score by the Bulldogs.