Canes not getting good value with Beck. And UM coaches dispute narratives
A six-pack of Hurricanes notes on a Thursday heading into Saturday’s home game against Syracuse (3:30 p.m., ESPN):
▪ The Miami Hurricanes have one of the five highest-paid quarterbacks in the country this season, according to On3.com.
They aren’t getting their money’s worth.
With two more interceptions in the loss to SMU (one wasn’t his fault; the other was and cost his team the game), Beck is now tied for third in the country with nine interceptions (to go with 14 touchdowns).
He has three touchdown passes and six interceptions during his past three games, and two of the interceptions torpedoed Miami’s chances in two losses, though Beck said an unnamed teammate (it was Elija Lofton) ran the wrong route on the late-game Louisville interception.
Among FBS quarterbacks who have thrown at least 100 passes, he has slipped to 53rd in passer rating (using the NFL formula) at 99.7.
On3.com’s Pete Nakos, citing sources, said Beck is making “roughly $3 to $3.2 million” with incentives that can bring the deal to $6 million.
Nakos said there are five quarterbacks earning at least $3 million: Beck, Duke’s Darian Mensah (Nakos said he has a two-year, $8 million deal), Michigan’s Bryce Underwood ($3 million), Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola (“more than $3 million”) and Penn State’s injured Drew Allar (at least $3 million).
Beck’s passer rating trails Mensah’s 117.6 and Raiola’s 109.3 passer rating but better than Aller (98.3 before his injury) and Underwood (89.4). Mensah, the Tulane transfer, has 21 TD passes and two interceptions. Raiola has 18 TDs and six interceptions.
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, whom the Canes bypassed in the portal, has a 130.5 passer rating. He’s reportedly making $2.6 million.
Though there is no “salary cap” in this modern new world era of college football, programs have NIL budgets and need to be smart in how much they allocate to certain players and positions. Though the decision to go with Beck seemed justified at the time, Mendoza (25 touchdowns, four interceptions for undefeated Indiana) would have been the cheaper and better option, in retrospect.
Beck’s overtime interception against SMU essentially doomed UM’s chances.
“Saturday there is nothing I can do to go change that,” Beck said this week. “I want the play back. There’s a lot of plays in my life since I was 6 years old that I want back, right? I’m human; I’ve made mistakes. That’s a tough one where it’s game on the line, right there and the guy makes a great play. Have to tip your hat to him; he undercut it and made a great play on it. I have to move on and continue to play consistent.”
Beck’s performance looks even worse considering he has received excellent pass protection. Miami has permitted only six sacks, tied for fewest in the country, and none in the past four games.
“We’re one of the best in the country providing a clean pocket,” Cristobal said.
▪ UM slot cornerback Keionte Scott has been one of the great success stories of the season, producing a team-leading 42 tackles, two sacks, nine tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.
Scott was an effective slot cornerback for Auburn two years ago but moved to the boundary last season, struggled and was benched. Surprisingly, he said moving back to slot isn’t the reason he’s playing better.
“I pride myself on being versatile; it’s not an inside/outside thing,” he said. “I just feel where my mindset was last year compared to now, I did some self-scouting, have been real honest with myself. I heard comments being made and put all that energy going against me going toward what I can do better and control in certain situations.”
▪ The narrative that UM coaches have been too conservative this season continues to bother them, even if there seems to be truth to it.
“We want to be super explosive,” Cristobal said this week after his team ran the ball between the tackles 20 times against SMU, averaging 3.2 per carry, while throwing only four passes of 20 yards or longer against the nation’s second-worst pass defense.
“Everything we do is to try to [counter] what the defense is giving us and be the most explosive offense we can possibly be,” he said.
UM was three for five on short-yardage runs and “that’s not good enough,” Cristobal said. “We’re back to work mouth shut so we can get the result we want.”
▪ Speaking of disputing narratives… Against SMU, the Canes lost as a double-digit favorite for the sixth time during Cristobal’s tenure. The 247 recruiting compositive index asserted UM had the vastly more talented roster. Cristobal said he doesn’t agree.
“They have as much talent as… we do,” he said on his WQAM coach’s show.
The difference, he suggested, was UM’s litany of mistakes on Saturday.
“We didn’t finish drives,” he said. “What’s causing us to not finish drives is a combination of penalties, drops and details. That’s on all of us.”
▪ Cristobal explained why UM took a knee with 25 seconds left, from its own 25-yard line, late in the SMU game and settled for the game going to overtime.
“People we have worked for always had that rule if it’s at your 25 or further back and you’re under 30 seconds, buyer beware, because more times than not, bad things happen.”
He said UM might have decided differently if it had a big return on the kickoff.
“Forty five percent of their kickers’ kickoffs were returnable; that’s a good number in college football,,” he said. “Once we didn’t get that and it was a touchback, [the thinking was] let’s go to overtime and not put ourselves in a risky situation. Every decision is based on a deep dive and analytical work.”
▪ Quick stuff: Cristobal, on Jojo Trader’s play against SMU — which included a TD catch but a dropped pass that led to an interception: “You can’t score one and give one back,” he said…
Cristobal raved about Tulane transfer Alex Bauman, who has started more games at tight end than projected starter Lofton. “We’re getting a lot of really good play from him. Down the stretch, he’s going to be a vital part of our team”...
ESPN assigned Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick to Saturday’s home game against Syracuse.
Here’s my Monday piece on how Cristobal’s performance compares with other coaches in his tax bracket and where he must improve.
Here’s my Tuesday piece on a new college football rule that will nullify one of UM’s greatest strengths the past two years.
This story was originally published November 5, 2025 at 3:58 PM.
