Miami needs Carson Beck at his best in the Cotton Bowl

For the first time in the Playoff Era, the Miami Hurricanes are in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals. The Canes will face the defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve night.

With a talented team on the opposite side of the field, there are plenty of things Miami will need to win the game. We’ve talked about many of them here on State of the U, and I hope you read all those other pieces, but there’s one thing that we haven’t discussed that now moves into the spotlight: the play of QB Carson Beck.

A 6th year senior, Beck has a wealth of experience to draw on in the Cotton Bowl. He’s started 40 games over the last 3 seasons for Georgia and Miami, compiling a stellar 35-5 record at the helm. Beck was also the backup at Georgia for 2 National Championship teams, so he’s been on-hand for the biggest games in the sport in his career.

But now, after coming up short as a first year starter in 2023, and getting injured in the SEC Championship Game in 2024, Beck has an opportunity to play in the College Football Playoffs, and add to his already impressive resume. After watching his team win without him as a young player, and his injury derailing a championship contender last year, Beck has the chance to add a career defining win to his resume in the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State.

This year for the Canes, Beck has been very good, but not perfect: 3,175 yards on a career-high (and all-time Miami record) 74.5% completions with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for the 11-2 Hurricanes. Though he’s had his moments with turnovers, Beck has a stellar 12-1 TD-INT ratio over the last 5 games of the year, including the first round Playoff win on the road at Texas A&M.

Regardless of the compensation amount — rumored to be as much as $4 million dollars — this game, this moment, this playoff opportunity is the exact reason Miami brought Beck to campus to lead the 2025 Hurricanes. Beck is a very good quarterback, with plenty of experience and wins under his belt, but like the Miami program, he’s looking for a major marquee moment to round our his impressive college career. A strong showing and a win against Ohio State would be just that.

Understandably for a 3 year starter at major programs like Georgia and Miami, Beck has played 12 games against ranked teams. In the 11 games he finished — Beck injured his throwing arm on the last play of the first half against Texas in SEC Championship Game in 2024 — Beck’s teams have an 8-3 record. In those games, he’s gone 236/361 passing (65.4% completions) for 2,834 yards with 15 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Like I said, very good, but not perfect.

The major thing that sticks out are the interceptions. Beck has a propensity to throw them in bunches, both in the past and in this season. Of the 8 interceptions he’s thrown in the 11 previous games against ranked opponents, 6 of them came in consecutive games in 2024 — 3 each against Alabama and Texas. This season, 8 of his 10 interceptions came in 3 games — 4 against Louisville and 2 each against USF and SMU. All told, Beck has 7 multiple interception games in his career, and 4 of those have had 3 or more interceptions with the 4 against Louisville being a career-high.

That’s bad, and that’s the play that Beck can’t display against Ohio State. OSU has the #1 passing defense in America, and has stifled quarterbacks and passing attacks all season long. They only have 8 interceptions on the season, but their combination of size, skill, and athleticism make them a threat to pilfer any errant throw Beck puts in harms way.

On the positive side, Beck has 8 games against ranked teams with more than 200 yards passing, and 7 games with no interceptions throw, either. That, combined with a near 66% completion percentage, is the kind of game Miami will need from Beck in the Cotton Bowl.

Beck worked tirelessly to come back from elbow reconstruction to play for Miami this year. He set a Miami record with a 74.5% completion percentage. He led Miami to their first Playoff win since the sport transitioned to a playoff from the BCS. He beat Florida yet again (3-0 vs those bums), beat Florida State, and beat Texas A&M on the road. But his biggest test is still ahead of him, and Miami will need his best performance to pass the challenge.

Win or lose, the performance of the quarterback is front and center in the evaluation of the game. This is a spotlight position, and this is a spotlight moment. If Miami is going to continue their season, Beck is going to need a spotlight performance in the biggest game Miami’s played in 23 years.

Coming off an uneven performance against Texas A&M, the moment is there for Beck to show his mettle and lead Miami to victory. Whether it’s a completion to convert 3rd and 8 or a 50 yard bomb to take the top off the defense and change the scoreboard, Miami will need a moment, likely moments, from Beck in the passing game to win against Ohio State.

Miami brought Carson Beck to Coral Gables to lead them places they haven’t gone in nearly 25 years. Beck held up his end of the bargain by getting Miami to the playoffs, and winning the first game against Texas A&M, but he will have to take his performance throwing the ball to a new level against a tough opponent to do it again.

That’s what Miami needs from Carson Beck tomorrow night. All that’s left is to tune in and see if he and the Canes can deliver.

Go Canes