Just over a month ago, most people didn’t expect the Miami Hurricanes to even be in the College Football Playoff.
But with a couple of losses by teams ranked ahead of them in the final week of the regular season, the Hurricanes were awarded the final at-large bid in the playoff, sneaking in by the skin of their teeth.
No one expected much from the 10th-seeded ’Canes, but they shocked the world with their stifling defense and old-school run game, taking down No. 7 Texas A&M on the road and then defending champs No. 2 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, leading them to a highly anticipated matchup with No. 6 Ole Miss in the semi-final.
With the defense struggling to stop Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, the game turned into a shootout, as the Rebels snagged a late 27-24 lead with just over three minutes left.
There stood the Hurricanes, at their own 25-yard line, with 3:13 left.
Hurricane hopes of ending a 25-year National Championship drought seemed destined to be prolonged — another collapse, another waste of talent, and a waste of millions of dollars spent on veteran transfer quarterback Carson Beck.
Beck faced criticism throughout the year for his failure to show up in big moments, as both of Miami’s losses can be pinned on his turnovers in clutch situations.
In the playoffs, multiple Hurricanes have shined bright in big moments, namely running back Mark Fletcher Jr. and receiver Malachi Toney, who scored in both the team’s previous matchups.
Now it was Beck’s turn to silence his critics.
He started off the drive accurate and safe, hitting his receivers on quick timed routes and staying ahead of the sticks, but after a costly penalty, the ’Canes found themselves facing a third and eighth just outside of field goal range — the first big test of the drive.
Beck fired a dart towards the sideline which was snared by wide receiver C.J. Daniels, who lunged forward for a clutch first down.
Miami fans erupted, but the job wasn’t finished.
Two plays later came another third down, this time just on the edge of field goal range with under a minute to go. Beck dropped back, went through his reads like a seasoned pro, and tossed a ball right over the middle, slicing between defenders and hitting wide out Keelan Marion in stride for a 17-yard gain to get the Hurricanes inside the 20.
Moments later, Beck delivered another dart over the middle to Marion, getting Miami inside the 10-yard line.
After a run up the middle was stifled by the Rebel defense, it seemed like all 67,928 fans inside State Farm Stadium were expecting another run, as that’s been Miami’s mantra all playoffs.
But to everyone’s surprise, the ball was put in Carson Beck’s hands with under 25 seconds to go.
He dropped back to pass, but with no one open he calmly evaded pressure in the pocket before peeking back over to his left, where there was nothing but open grass and an open end zone.
He scampered away from the Rebels defenders and flexed as he hyped up the Miami faithful, charging into the end zone, giving the Hurricanes the lead, and sending them back to the promise land for the first time in over two decades.
In just under three minutes, Beck turned himself from a rental quarterback into a Hurricane legend, now with a chance to complete the dream in Miami’s home stadium against No. 1 Indiana.
Most critics expect a Miami loss, but that’s exactly the role the Hurricanes have thrived in all postseason. The game will be played on Monday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. eastern time and will air on ESPN.
