ARLINGTON – Miami didn’t just beat the defending champs — the Hurricanes mugged them on the sport’s biggest stage and walked out of Arlington with a 24-14 Cotton Bowl shocker that punched “The U” into the College Football Playoff semifinals.

The swing moment came early and it came loud: corner Keionte Scott baited a quick screen, jumped it clean, and took it 72 yards untouched for a pick-six, his second of the season. That wasn’t a lucky bounce — it was Miami diagnosing Ohio State’s intent and punishing it with points.

Add in a crisp 9-yard TD toss from Carson Beck to Mark Fletcher Jr. (out of the backfield), and the Canes were up 14-0 before the Buckeyes could catch their breath.

Beck didn’t need to play superhero. He played efficient, controlled football — 19-of-26 for 138 yards and a touchdown — and let Miami’s defense and field position do the dirty work. Fletcher did the rest, grinding out 90 rushing yards on 19 carries and earning the game’s offensive MVP while keeping Miami on schedule and Ohio State’s pass rush from teeing off every snap.

Miami tacked on a 49-yard field goal in the third, then slammed the door late with ChaMar Brown’s 5-yard TD run in the final minute — the final insult on a night when Ohio State’s defense finally looked human.

For Ohio State, the night spiraled around turnovers and missed chances. With Will Howard sidelined, freshman Julian Sayin flashed arm talent (287 yards, 22-of-35) but paid the price for one ill-advised throw and Miami’s aggression, finishing with two interceptions and taking five sacks.

Jeremiah Smith tried to drag the Buckeyes back into it — 7 catches for 157 yards and a fourth-down TD — but it was too little, too late. Even a monster effort from Caleb Downs (the first player to force two fumbles in a CFP game) couldn’t flip the script because Miami kept cashing in the moments that mattered.

Miami now rides a six-game heater into the Fiesta Bowl semifinal on Jan. 8, where it’ll face the winner of Georgia vs. Ole Miss. The stakes are deliciously chaotic: one more win and the Hurricanes get a shot at the national title — in their home stadium — with the program’s first championship since 2001 suddenly feeling a lot less like nostalgia and a lot more like a threat.

Ohio State, meanwhile, heads into an offseason that started as a repeat bid and ended as a warning: defending the crown is hard — and Miami just made it look personal.