10 players to watch in Fiesta Bowl between Miami, Ole Miss

Ole Miss’ top-10 offense will take on Miami’s top-five defense at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday at State Farm Stadium, with the winner advancing to play in the national championship.

Ole Miss, despite the loss of head coach Lane Kiffin to LSU before the College Football Playoff, has continued to put up big numbers with wins over Tulane and Georgia en route to the semifinal. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss became one of the stars of the CFP with his heroics in the second half against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Miami went up against Texas A&M and Ohio State and allowed 17 total points to pull off both upsets. The Hurricanes racked up 12 sacks over the two games, with potential first-round NFL Draft pick Rueben Bain Jr. nabbing four of them.

With Ole Miss competing for its first national title since 1960 and Miami looking to return to glory more than two decades after losing the national championship at the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, let’s break down 10 players to watch in Glendale:

Miami players to watch at Fiesta Bowl

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

DL Rueben Bain Jr.

Bain is a potential top-10 pick in the upcoming draft, as ESPN’s Jordan Reid mocked him at No. 9.

The 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive lineman won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year with 8.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. According to Pro Football Focus, Bain led college football with 53 quarterback hurries as a premier disruptor in the backfield.

Bain has recorded sacks in four of his last five games and will be the player to watch on Miami’s defense on Thursday.

DL Akheem Mesidor

The Hurricanes are third in the country in team sacks and 14th in tackles for loss, so let’s continue to highlight the defensive line.

Mesidor has recorded 3.5 sacks in Miami’s two playoff games and leads the team this year with 10.5.

A 6-foot-3, 280-pound senior from Canada, Mesidor said he knew Miami growing up because of its legends like Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, who have continued to involve themselves in this playoff run either on the sideline or via locker room speeches.

In regards to the dominant defense, he said, “I think we’re a physical front. Not just a physical front, a physical defense. All 11 guys are running after the ball, swarming, are violent.”

QB Carson Beck

Beck is two wins away from winning his first national championship as a starter. He has two rings from his five years at Georgia, but he was the backup to Stetson Bennett IV for both titles.

He went 24-3 as a starter in 2023-24, but Georgia failed to return to the mountaintop. Beck transferred to Miami last offseason and came very close to facing his former squad at the Fiesta Bowl.

“I don’t think that the outcome of the game had really any effect on my emotions or how I felt,” Beck told reporters in a Fiesta Bowl media availbility.

Beck has been steady for Miami, as he’s second in the country in completion percentage at 74.4% and made Third Team All-ACC.

He only threw for 241 yards in Miami’s two playoff games, but he did not give the ball away and made enough plays to get over the edge with a stout defensive effort.

“His mentality and his approach to the game is exactly what this team needed and needs,” Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “He sees football in a very different way, so he understands the makeup of this team. He understands our role.”

WR Malachi Toney 

Toney was 17 years old when the season started and was one of the most productive receivers in college football.

As a 5-foot-11 freshman, Toney became the first Miami freshman in program history to exceed 1,000 receiving yards (1,008).

He made First Team All-ACC, won ACC Rookie of the Year and scored the game-winning touchdown against Texas A&M with less than two minutes on the clock in the first round of the CFP.

MALACHI TONEY RUNS IT IN AGAIN 😤

Watch Miami-Florida State on ABC and the ESPN App pic.twitter.com/DVDLKmQS6V

— ESPN (@espn) October 5, 2025

OT Francis Mauigoa

Reid projected Mauigoa (Mau-i-noa) would go third overall to the Arizona Cardinals, while ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. listed him fifth on his big board.

Mauigoa is 6-foot-6, 335 pounds and an All-American who has started every game for Miami over the past three years.

Miami as a team has not allowed more than two sacks in any game and surrendered the sixth-fewest tackles for loss in the country.

“They’re very big. They can pass block. But I think the most that stands out to me is they play together,” Ole Miss defensive tackle Will Echoles said at Fiesta Bowl Media Day.

Ole Miss players to watch at Fiesta Bowl

(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

QB Trinidad Chambliss

A season ago, Chambliss won a national title for Division-II Ferris State. He entered the transfer portal and joined Ole Miss as the backup quarterback to Austin Simmons, but an injury thrust him into the starting role.

Chambliss won SEC Newcomer of the Year and made the All-SEC Second Team in a tie with Alabama’s Ty Simpson.

He enters a CFP semifinal game after throwing for 362 yards and two touchdowns to take down Georgia.

“It’s really crazy to think about,” Chambliss said. “I was in the same position last year. We were playing Harding. It was a different team, a different school and a different division, but it’s really cool.”

He has thrown for 3,660 yards with 21 touchdowns and three interceptions and ran for 520 yards and eight scores.

The breakout star for Ole Miss has agreed to return to the Rebels for next season but awaits a decision from the NCAA for a medical redshirt waiver.

As for Thursday’s game, Chambliss has a difficult assignment with Miami’s front, and his mindset going into the game is to limit their impact.

“I would just say helping your offensive line out,” Chambliss said. “We know they’re very physical up front, and they can get to the quarterback very quickly. So just having a timer in my head of getting rid of the ball, getting back to my checkdown and then making a decision to scramble and run.”

LEGENDARY PERFORMANCE FROM TRINIDAD CHAMBLISS 😤 🇹🇹 @OleMissFB pic.twitter.com/Mq2ixsDEcm

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 2, 2026

WR De’Zhaun Stribling 

Stribling is having himself a playoff run. After hauling in five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown against Tulane, Stribling gained 122 yards against Georgia, catching a 40-yard pass from Chambliss to set up the game-winning field goal late in the fourth quarter.

Stribling and Harrison Wallace III are Ole Miss’ top targets, combining for 1,628 yards and 10 touchdowns this season.

RB Kewan Lacy

Lacy is second in the country with 23 rushing touchdowns this season, more than anyone else at a Power 4 program. He is the first Doak Walker finalist in program history.

The sophomore ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns against Georgia, but it was a first-down reception in the fourth quarter that went viral. Chambliss scrambled nearly 30 yards behind the line of scrimmage to avoid the defense, ran ahead and found Lacy. Lacy bounced off a tackle and dove for the first down. Ole Miss scored a go-ahead touchdown to cap that drive.

DT Will Echoles

Echoles won the Defensive MVP award for his performance in the Sugar Bowl, finishing the game with two tackles for loss and two pass defenses against Georgia.

“This is the first time I’ve been out here,” Echoles said. “These last couple of games feel like the biggest games in my life. I’m just embracing the moment.”

The 6-foot-3 sophomore said the key against Georgia was limiting the ground game and getting off the field on third downs.

He and his defensive line, including fellow standout Princewill Umanmielen, will be challenged to get pressure up front and get Miami off rhythm.

K Lucas Carneiro

Carneiro not only hit the game-winner, but he became the first FBS kicker to drill three 45-plus-yard field goals in a bowl/playoff game, according to OptaStats.

His 90% field-goal percentage is 10th in the country, but nobody else ahead of him has attempted 30 field goals. He is 24-for-26 inside 50 yards, so if the Fiesta Bowl comes down to the final seconds, the Rebels have someone capable of hitting a big kick.

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