Beck suggested Miami adjust its offense late vs. Texas A&M. It made the difference
Carson Beck knew the Miami Hurricanes had to change their approach. The offense was sputtering more often than not for most of the Hurricanes’ first-round College Football Playoff matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies, a combination of swirling wind and a stout defense making things difficult.
But one player in particular was standing out in running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who put up his share of big plays early despite Miami not fully and consistently committing to the run game.
So Beck approached offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson on the sideline and made a suggestion: Keep the ball on the ground. Run and run and run some more. Let Fletcher take control.
“As the game evolved, our guys were leaning on him,” Beck said. “I saw their defense and you could just see in the way that they were playing — I don’t want to say in their effort; obviously they’re playing their butt off — but our guys were just physically imposing their will on them. That’s why I went to him like ‘Just go smash mouth. Just go right at them and I think we’re going to just be able to go right down the field.’”
Sure enough, on Miami’s final drive, with the game tied 3-3, they ran and ran and ran some more. Fletcher ripped off a 56-yard run on the first play of the possession and got 75 yards total on five carries — finishing with 172 on 17 carries for the game overall. The drive ended with a Beck shovel pass to Malachi Toney that went 11 yards for the game-winning touchdown in the eventual 10-3 win.
On a day when Beck’s stat line wasn’t the prettiest (14 of 20 for 103 yards, one touchdown and two sacks), his understanding of the game — and the trust he built with Dawson — proved pivotal to keep the Hurricanes’ season alive. Miami now prepares for its quarterfinal matchup against the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1) in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31 in Arlington, Texas.
“He was right,” Dawson said. “I think having a level head in those situations is crucial. It’s easy to get impatient and start trying to throw the ball around the yard in a day where it wasn’t working that way. So ultimately, what we had going for us that really they didn’t is we could run the football. They couldn’t. So they had to try to throw it, which turned into a couple of interceptions and some erratic passes. Us being able to lean on the run the second half was really the tale of the tape in the game.”
And Beck’s instincts to nudge Dawson in that direction paid dividends. Sure, he sacrificed the potential to put up individual numbers, to be the hero himself.
But the end result — the win, the chance to still be competing for a national championship — overrides any individual markers.
Beck knowing how to put his ego aside, Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said, is a talent that helps.
“He just wants to win,” Cristobal said. We’ve always said it when talking about Carson. He’s not interested in stats and anything regarding personal accolades. ... It’s an elite trait.”
But that bond, that trust, between Dawson and Beck didn’t form overnight. It’s been a year-long development ever since Beck transferred to Miami from Georgia in January with the hopes of making the Hurricanes a contender. All the film sessions, all the questions during and after practice, all the work through the first 12 games of the regular season got them to this point.
“He sees things very clearly,” Dawson said. “Typically when he comes off the field, he says something and you watch it on the iPad and he’s typically spot-on. There are things that I don’t see in the course of calling it that I watch the iPad, and he’s typically pretty spot-on in those situations. Everybody keeps a level head and a very calm demeanor, which is key in those type of games when it’s real tight. Look, one mistake can cost you a game. His input was awesome.”
Beck said the rapport between him and Dawson was built instantly.
Even when Beck was unable to practice during the spring while recovering from offseason elbow surgery, he noted how Dawson handles himself during practice and knew they’d be a match.
“I’m mostly calm, cool and collected, but I can get very fiery just based off of kind of like the flow of the game,” Beck said. “His demeanor honestly helps me stay very level. He just kind of eliminates the emotions of what a football game can bring, especially as we continue to go through the season and the stakes and the expectations of each and every game [get higher].”
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