‘Be Miami’: As Hurricanes keep playoff hopes alive, their focus has to remain internal
As Carson Beck reflected on the No. 18 Miami Hurricanes’ 38-10 win over the Syracuse Orange on Saturday, he also put into perspective what needs to take place over the next few weeks.
“We played loose,” Beck said. “I thought we had fun, and I think that’s the biggest thing for us right now. ... Don’t worry about the outside stuff. Don’t worry about the noise. Don’t worry about this, that and the other. Just focus on what we have to do to execute each and every down and, shoot, it worked for us tonight.”
Beck is right in that worrying about the “outside stuff” isn’t going to help the Hurricanes (7-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) accomplish anything.
However, he and the rest of his team knows quite well that, barring a highly unlikely trip to the ACC Championship Game, whether they make the 12-team College Football Playoff will be decided by a 13-person selection committee that determines the field.
Before the committee’s voice can have that say, though, the Hurricanes need to give them a reason to make a decision. UM needs to take care of its own business first.
With that said, Beck isn’t one for messaging — at least not yet.
The only message that needs to be sent, that can be sent, is what Miami does on the field every Saturday the rest of this month.
“Be Miami,” Beck said, “and be what The U is about.”
At Miami, that’s supposed to be striving for championships. That’s supposed to be being an annual contender.
But that hasn’t been the case since most every player on this roster has been born. UM hasn’t won a title since the 2001 season and hasn’t been in true contention to compete for one since joining the ACC in 2004.
They looked like they had a chance in both 2017 and 2024, starting 10-0 and 9-0 respectively in those seasons before collapsing down the stretch.
And now there’s this season. Miami started out 5-0 and had three wins against opponents ranked in the AP top-25 at the time of the matchup. Then they lost twice in a three-game span at home to Louisville and in overtime on the road to SMU.
CFP selection committee chairman Mack Rhoades justified the committee’s decision of putting Miami as low as it did in its initial rankings by saying the Hurricanes were “struggling a bit” recently, evidenced by those losses. He added that the committee needs to “just need to see more consistency out of Miami headed down the stretch” for a playoff berth to be viable for UM.
Saturday was a first step in doing that.
After a sluggish start by the offense, with four punts on its first four drives, and despite playing without multiple starters, Miami went up 14-0 at halftime on a Beck touchdown catch — yes, touchdown catch — from wide receiver Malachi Toney and a Keionte Scott pick-six in a span of 23 seconds. A second turnover by the defense as Syracuse drove down the field before the break temporarily preserved the shutout.
UM then scored on each of its next three drives via a 61-yard touchdown from Beck to Keelan Marion, a 19-yard touchdown run from Girard Pringle and a 36-yard Carter Davis field goal to lead 31-3 by the end of the third quarter.
The Hurricanes capped their scoring late in the fourth quarter when offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa took a backward pass from Beck and rumbled into the end zone for a 3-yard rushing touchdown.
The defense, meanwhile, had 11 tackles for loss, seven sacks, forced three turnovers and, most importantly, limited Syracuse to 10 points — UM has yet to allow an opponent to score more than 24 points in regulation this season.
“When Miami’s on, Miami really distinguishes itself as one of the better teams,” Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said.
But that’s the problem. Miami hasn’t always been “on.” Every time it seems like momentum is in its favor, Miami has found a way to implode. Turnovers, penalties, mental mistakes, drops, poor coaching decisions. Spin the wheel and see which one comes up on any given week when the stakes are highest.
UM can’t have any of that down the stretch in a schedule that wraps up with a home game against N.C. State on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN) and road games at Virginia Tech and No. 24 Pittsburgh.
The push to compete for a championship starts from within. Only then can the thoughts from the outside play a factor.
“For us, I think focusing on what we have to do and how we have to finish day by day, week by week, is the only thing that we can focus on,” Beck said. “If we’re not internally focused and focused on that, then that’s when we let things leak inside, and that’s when things start to go south. The more that we can continue to just internalize and focus on what we need to do, that will handle itself.”
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