How Carson Beck used the Hurricanes’ bye week to reset ahead of FSU clash
Carson Beck didn’t use the Miami Hurricanes’ first bye week of the season to sit around and rest. He didn’t take in any hobbies with UM getting a brief break in its schedule before starting Atlantic Coast Conference play.
“Work,” Beck said simply of his bye week itinerary. “That’s all I do. Once it’s football season, it’s time to go.”
And there was plenty of work to get done and plenty of film to watch last week with Beck coming off his first rough performance of the season. He completed 17 of 30 passes for just 160 yards and an interception in the Hurricanes’ 26-7 win over the Florida Gators on Sept. 20.
While Miami got the win on a rain-soaked Saturday night at Hard Rock Stadium to stay undefeated at 4-0, Beck and the third-ranked Hurricanes know there was a lot to correct heading into their showdown against the No. 18 Florida State Seminoles (3-1, 0-1 ACC) at Tallahassee’s Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC) to begin their ACC slate.
“It’s a chance to reflect,” Beck said. “Look at yourself in the mirror, see where you can get better, what you’ve done well.”
Overall, Beck has done what the Hurricanes have needed him to do so far this season even with the lackluster individual showing against the Gators. He has completed 73.2% of his passes (seventh nationally among quarterbacks with at least 90 pass attempts) for 972 yards and seven touchdowns against three interceptions through four games.
But the Florida game showed there is still room for growth. He went 0 for 7 with an interception on passes longer than 10 yards, and nine of his 17 completions were on passes behind the line of scrimmage. The Hurricanes switched to a more run-based attack as the game went on, with Mark Fletcher Jr. and CharMar “Marty” Brown ultimately combining for 196 rushing yards and three touchdowns to put the game away.
“I think just for me — and this has been just throughout my career — is always just tightening up on my reads and the process of plays,” Beck said. “Making sure we’re getting into the right calls and right checks against the right coverages. That’s really a whole offense thing, but as the quarterback and the head of the offense, that’s the biggest thing for me. Just continuing to go through the process of plays and then just continue to build that chemistry between me and the guys. Think that’s a huge thing that translates onto the field.”
Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson wasn’t as critical of Beck’s performance, saying the only “really glaring” play Beck made was his third-quarter interception.
“There were a few situations in the game where we just probably need to trust our progression a little bit and get through it,” Dawson said, “but other than that, pretty solid performance.”
And the game served as a reminder of something else, too.
Beck came to Miami with big shoes to fill in replacing Cam Ward, who rewrote the Hurricanes’ record book in one season on his way to leading UM to the best offense in the country and becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. He has faced high expectations to live up to his predecessor as Miami pushes to compete for both the ACC title and a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
For the most part, Beck is making the plays he needs to make and isn’t trying to overdo it. He has enough supporting cast members in a stout run game and a solid defense where he doesn’t have to be the hero on a nightly basis, something Ward had to do frequently down the stretch last year.
“We can beat you in a lot of different ways,” Dawson said.
Beck will continue to navigate the offense through that, starting Saturday against an FSU team that has been one of the surprises of college football one year after going 2-10.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge,” Beck said.
Now, it’s back to work. Right tackle Francis Mauigoa said Beck looked back to form at practice on Tuesday, “throwing some dots out there” and being “on point” with his protection calls.
“He’s a leader,” Mauigoa said. “He leads us through everything. Whatever he does, we support him, and we always will.... I know he’s ready.”
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