Miami football in Fiesta Bowl: All you need to know before Ole Miss

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The Miami Hurricanes entered the College Football Playoff as the final at-large team and the only one from the ACC.

The Ole Miss Rebels entered the College Football Playoff as perhaps the most talked about team in the nation because their head coach left for a rival just before the tournament began.

Now, one of these teams will make the national championship game by beating the other in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8.

Before kickoff out in the desert, here's a quick look at what you need to know before the Miami Hurricanes take the field against Ole Miss:

Miami vs Ole Miss | Fiesta Bowl, College Football Playoff semifinal

When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8

Where: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

TV: ESPN | Stream on ESPN app and Fubo (free trial)

Tom D'Angelo covers Miami football from every angle

Palm Beach Post columnist Tom D'Angelo is in Arizona for the game, and has shared several stories about these Hurricanes.

It started with the Miami defense, which has wrecked the games for both Texas A&M and Ohio State in the previous playoff games. Led by likely first-round draft picks Reuben Bain and Ahkeem Mesidor, who better to critique the defense than Miami QB Carson Beck, who routine goes up against them.

Michael Irvin, other Hurricanes legend on sideline

With a football program like Miami's, there's a who's who of pigskin royalty that claim "The U." But there may not be another team in the country who will have this many legends on the sideline watching their alma mater like the Hurricanes. Michael Irvin, the Hall of Fame wide receiver who helped raise Miami's profile in the 1980s, is almost more visible than Sebastian the Ibis.

Keionte Scott: An underdog story

You know how people say, "they guys just wants to live in the gym"? Well, Miami defensive back Keionte Scott literally did so at the Hurricanes' practice facility. He's now one of the key players on the back end of the Hurricanes' defense, who came up with the huge interception return for a touchdown against Ohio State.

Carson Beck makes good on Miami transfer

One of the biggest stars of the Fiesta Bowl will be Miami quarterback Carson Beck. The kid from northeast Florida made his name as the top dog for Georgia, so he's no stranger to big games. But not many would have expected Beck, who's projections have run the gamut in college, to get the Hurricanes to the doorstep of the national title game.

Mario Cristobal and Pete Golding: Fiesta Bowl odd couple

It's not exactly Felix and Oscar, but you would be hard press to find a more diametrically opposed coaching matchup than Miami's Mario Cristobal and Ole Miss' Pete Golding. Cristobal, coaching at his alma mater, has been saddled with the moniker of falling short in big games. Meanwhile, Golding is in the midst of an improbable run with half of his staff semi-out the door to follow the former head coach to LSU.

Miami football yearning for a Fiesta, finally

The Fiesta Bowl has not been kind to the Hurricanes. In the 2002 season, Miami was one play short in the epic national title loss to Ohio State. A generation before that, the 1986 team famously stepped off the plane in Army fatigues but then fell to Penn State with another national championship on the line. Will Arizona remain a house of horrors for the Hurricanes?

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Hurricanes in CFP: What to know before Fiesta Bowl vs Ole Miss

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