The 2026 Fiesta Bowl is a college footballbowl game that is scheduled to be played on January 8, 2026, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The 55th annual Fiesta Bowl will be one of the College Football Playoff (CFP) semifinals and will feature the winners of two quarterfinal matchups. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. MST and will air on ESPN.[1][2] The Fiesta Bowl will be one of the 2025–26 bowl games. The game is sponsored by vacation rental marketplace Vrbo and is officially known as the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
Miami of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) will face Ole Miss from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Miami previously appeared in, and lost, four prior Fiesta Bowls—the 1985, 1987, 1994, and 2003 editions. This will be the first Fiesta Bowl for Ole Miss.
Miami opened their season with five consecutive wins, including three over ranked opponents: Notre Dame, South Florida, and Florida State. They suffered two losses in their next three games, to Louisville and SMU, then won their final four regular-season games.[3] The Hurricanes were seeded 10th in the CFP, and defeated Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, in a first-round contest.[4] Miami entered the Cotton Bowl quarterfinal with an overall record of 11–2, where they defeated Ohio State, 24–14, to advance to the Fiesta Bowl.[5]
Ole Miss began the season as the No. 21 ranked team in the AP Poll. The Rebels began the season with a 63–7 rout of Georgia State before earning their first SEC victory of the season on the road against Kentucky. After starting quarterback Austin Simmons was injured against Kentucky, Ferris State transfer Trinidad Chambliss was named the Rebels' starter moving forward. After outlasting Arkansas and soundly handling Tulane, Ole Miss faced undefeated LSU in the Magnolia Bowl. The Rebels prevailed 24–19 over the Tigers and vaulted to No. 4 in the AP Poll. Following a bye week, Ole Miss defeated Washington State before heading to Athens to face Georgia, where the Rebels were outlasted 43–35. Following their first defeat of the season, Ole Miss rebounded with a 34–26 road victory at Oklahoma. The Rebels then returned home for a three-game homestand that included victories over South Carolina, The Citadel, and Florida. Following their second bye week, Ole Miss faced off against rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, with the Rebels winning 38–19. Two days following the Rebels' Egg Bowl victory, head coach Lane Kiffin announced his departure from the program to become the next head coach at LSU. After Kiffin's departure, the team announced that defensive coordinator Pete Golding would take over as the head coach for the College Football Playoffs. As the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, the Rebels rematched with Tulane, defeating the Green Wave, 41–10, to move on to the quarterfinals. In the Sugar Bowl, Ole Miss defeated Georgia, 39–34, to advance to this semifinal.[6]
Game summary
College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2026 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
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