Miami's defense has been airtight to fuel run to CFP semifinals. And now Ole Miss awaits

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The biggest signing for Miami going into this season might not have been quarterback Carson Beck out of Georgia, wide receiver CJ Daniels out of LSU or defensive back Keionte Scott out of Auburn.

It might have been the guy they got from Minnesota.

Corey Hetherman — Miami's defensive coordinator — was hired away from the Golden Gophers in January 2025 and given a simple yet enormous task: Fix a defense that was so porous last season that not even a 10-win team with a No. 1 draft pick like Cam Ward at quarterback and the top-ranked offense in the country was deemed worthy of a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The result: The Hurricanes are giving up their fewest points per game since 2001, which not coincidentally just happens to be their last national championship season. They've given up 9.7 points per game in their current six-game winning streak, plus an even-stingier 8.5 points per game in its two CFP wins over Texas A&M and Ohio State. And now comes another massive test for Miami (12-2), which will take on high-octane Mississippi (13-1) in a CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.

''He's a guy that has no Miami ties,'' Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of Hetherman. ''But he quickly established himself as a very knowledgeable person with a very high care factor and a ridiculous amount of intensity."

It all stems from an acronym that Hetherman brought with him to Miami: ESV. It stands for excitement, swarm, violence. That has been the base philosophy for everything that he's installed at Miami over the last 12 months.

That sort of thinking, combined with a ton of talent, has been the perfect match. Defensive linemen Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor are generally considered to be first-round draft candidates and have been one of the best 1-2 punches in college football, combining for 19 sacks.

It's far from just Bain and Mesidor leading the way. The secondary that was shelled last season has 16 interceptions this year, 11 of them coming from either freshman Bryce Fitzgerald or transfer Jakobe Thomas. Scott, who Miami believes was snubbed from some major individual awards, had a game-changing interception for a touchdown in the win over Ohio State. Linebacker Mohamed Toure might have saved the season with a pass breakup near the goal line in the final moments of the win at Texas A&M. The cornerback play is vastly improved. Linebacker Wesley Bissainthe has made big play after big play.

And if all that isn't enough, Hetherman's staff includes none other than Hall of Famer Jason Taylor — the defensive line coach who has gone from Miami Dolphins great to Miami Hurricanes great.

The numbers from 2024 to 2025 are simply staggering. Miami was 69th nationally in points allowed and 27th nationally in yards allowed per game last season; the Hurricanes are fourth in points allowed and 10th in yards allowed this season.

''We have done it differently here than I've done it everywhere else, as far as like where we install and do certain things on certain days,'' Hetherman said. ''And it's worked out really well. And I think our guys are playing fast with the way we're doing it right now.''

A loss at SMU on Nov. 1 dropped Miami to 6-2 and basically meant the Hurricanes had to win out to have any chance at making the 12-team CFP field. And in those six games, the Miami defense has more than done its job.

— Had seven sacks against Syracuse in a game where Miami led 38-3 before settling for a 38-10 win.

— Built a 41-0 lead over N.C. State, before surrendering a touchdown with 2:10 remaining with a slew of backups on the field. The Wolfpack came into that game No. 2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference's offensive rankings and Thomas had a pair of first-quarter interceptions.

— Recorded five sacks at Virginia Tech in a 34-17 win, the most sacks allowed by the Hokies since — ironically — last season's bowl loss to Minnesota, Hetherman's last game with the Gophers.

— Held Pitt to seven points in the regular season finale, the Panthers' lowest total in more than two years.

— Held Texas A&M to three points in the CFP first-round game in College Station, the Aggies' lowest point total since 2014.

Ole Miss has seen all that, of course. The Rebels have high praise.

''They got dudes,'' Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss said. ''Their front seven, their defensive line, they got dudes up front. They're physical, high motor defense.''

Those dudes are one win away from a spot in the CFP title game, which will be Jan. 19 on Miami's home field at Hard Rock Stadium.

''Every person in that locker room is playing for each other,'' Bissainthe said. ''That's what it looks like when we're out there. No one is just playing for themselves. The brotherhood, I feel like it's one of the most important things in a team's culture. You've got to play for the person beside of you.''

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