The top 10 moments from the Miami Hurricanes' 2025 season
The 2025 season saw the Miami Hurricanes take significant strides under coach Mario Cristobal. They jumped out to a 5-0 start to the season, overcame the hurdle of two losses in a three-week span to find their way into the College Football Playoff and then went all the way to the national championship game where a 13-3 season eventually ended with a 27-21 loss to the No. 1 and undefeated Indiana Hoosiers.
Along the way, there were plenty of great memories that will likely stand the test of time.
Here are the top 10 moments from the Hurricanes’ season. They are in chronological order.
1.) CJ Daniels’ early contender for catch of the season: CJ Daniels wasted little time making a big impression for the Hurricanes.
Daniels, a transfer wide receiver from LSU, made a highlight-reel catch late in the second quarter of No. 10 Miami’s season-opening 27-24 win against the No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Aug. 31 that was an early contender for Catch of the Year at the end of the season.
With Miami facing a second-and-3 from the Notre Dame 20-yard line, Daniels hauled in a pass from quarterback Carson Beck, leaping for a one-handed grab between a pair of Notre Dame defenders — defensive backs Adon Shuler and Leonard Moore — for a spectacular 20-yard touchdown.
The play gave Miami a 14-7 lead entering halftime of the prime time matchup at Hard Rock Stadium.
While Daniels received heaps of praise for the play, the veteran said he isn’t surprised he made the play — “The world was surprised,” he said. He knows his capabilities. Now, he’s showcasing them.
“When the ball is in the air,” Daniels said. “I just feel like it’s really just me and the ball.”
2.) Beating FSU in Tallahassee: Miami swept through nonconference play before setting up a top-20 matchup with it in-state rivals, the Florida State Seminoles, to open Atlantic Coast Conference play.
While FSU made a fourth-quarter push, the Hurricanes handled the Seminoles 28-22 behind four touchdowns from Beck — two apiece to Daniels and freshman Malachi Toney — and a defensive effort that included three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble recovery) and two sacks.
It was Miami’s first win in Tallahassee since 2019 and the first in a ranked matchup since 2004.
3.) Toney’s touchdown pass to Beck: In the first of what turned into a a run of four must-win games following losses to Louisville and SMU in a three-week span, the Hurricanes got creative on offense, with two plays in particular providing a needed spark — and some fun — in a win over Syracuse.
The first came with Miami at the Syracuse 14-yard line. Offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson called a reverse that wound up being a double pass, with Toney — who played quarterback growing up and led Plantation American Heritage to a state title last season playing the position in the postseason — lofting a pass to Beck for a touchdown to give Miami a 7-0 lead with 2:13 left in the first half.
It was Beck’s first career receiving touchdown and the second consecutive season a UM quarterback has a receiving touchdown after Cam Ward had one against Florida State last year.
“My eyes got all wide,” Beck said. “I’m calling the play, whatever, we’re lining up the ball, and I’m literally just repeating it to myself in my head, like, ‘Catch the ball, catch the ball, catch the ball, catch the ball.’ And when he threw it back to me, it was a little low. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, is this going to get here?’ I stepped back to it and then obviously, I’ve got the Great Wall of China in front of me to block everybody. So, man, that was super fun. Super fun. Great, great moment that I’ll remember forever.”
4.) Francis Mauigoa’s touchdown run: Not to be outdone by Beck and Toney, UM’s star right tackle had his big moment later in the Syracuse game. With Miami up 31-3 at that point in the fourth quarter, Beck took the snap from the shotgun and rolled to his left. Then, Beck spun around and threw a backwards pass to Mauigoa. A couple blocks from his fellow linemen left him an open lane to score. He’s the first Hurricanes offensive lineman to score a touchdown since Sunny Odogwu on Oct. 31, 2015.
But while Mauigoa had been hoping for that play to develop for three years, there is one thing he regrets about the play.
“I wanted to run over somebody,” Mauigoa said postgame, a response that garnered some laughs in the news conference.
5.) Pick-sixes in consecutive games: Keionte Scott and Jakobe Thomas, two defensive backs who transferred to Miami for their final season of college football, accomplished something UM hadn’t done in nearly a decade when they each returned interceptions for touchdowns in consecutive weeks — Scott doing so against Syracuse, Thomas against NC State.
It marked the first time the Hurricanes have had pick-sixes in consecutive games since Nov. 11 and 18, 2017 — doing so against Notre Dame and Virginia.
6.) Making the College Football Playoff field: When Miami finished its stretch of four must-win games — beating Syracuse, NC State, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh by a combined 151-41 score — it had its case to make the 12-team playoff field.
But the Hurricanes had to wait.
And when the bracket was revealed on Dec. 7, the committee agreed Miami was worthy of a playoff spot. UM clocked in at No. 10, getting the final at-large berth over Notre Dame and BYU.
“Our team just got better and better and better to the point where, by the end of this season, those last four weeks, the data is that of a team that’s playing at a top-five level in just about every single category,” Cristobal said. “A lot of resilience, a lot of tremendous mental and physical toughness, and a tremendous dedication and commitment to doing it the right way.”
7.) The wild finish at Texas A&M: Miami’s first playoff test: A road game at No. 7 Texas A&M. The wind was swirling, offense at a minimum for three-and-a-half quarters.
And then came the wild finish.
Mark Fletcher Jr. powered Miami’s final offensive drive with 75 yards on five carries before Beck’s shovel pass to Toney went 11 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:44 left to play. This came one drive after Toney fumbled near midfield.
The defense followed with a goal-line stand capped by Bryce Fitzgerald’s second interception of the game.
Miami wins 10-3. On to the quarterfinals.
8.) Keionte Scott’s pick-six vs Ohio State: Scott had his share of big moments as the Hurricanes’ starting nickel cornerback this season.
None probably bigger than what he did in the second quarter against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
On second-and-16 with the Buckeyes deep in Hurricanes territory, Scott jumped Brandon Inniss’ route and returned an interception for a 72-yard touchdown to give Miami an early 14-0 lead.
“Shot my shot,” Scott said after the game, an eventual 24-14 win to advance Miami to the College Football Playoff semifinals, “and the ball went in my hands.”
For Scott, it’s his second interception of the season — both of which he returned for a touchdown. Scott is the first Hurricanes player to return multiple interceptions for a touchdown in the same season since Sean Taylor did it three times in the 2003 season.
The others to do so: Mauirce Sikes in 2002, Ed Reed in 2001 and 2000, Dexter Seigler in 1992 and Bennie Blades in 1985.
On to the semifinals.
9.) Carson Beck’s touchdown run to beat Ole Miss: The Hurricanes had three minutes for the rest of their lives.
That’s what Beck told the offense as it took the field for the final time in the Fiesta Bowl. One drive to determine everything.
Beck delivered.
Fifteen plays. Seventy-five yards. Four third-down conversion.
And, finally, Beck breaking free on a run to his left, no defender in sight, for a go-ahead 3-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left.
“This is why you play the game of football,” Beck said. “This is why you come to the University of Miami is for moments like this.”
On to the national championship game.
10.) Mark Fletcher’s two title-game touchdown runs caps stellar playoff ride: While the title game ended with a loss, running back Fletcher — one of the undisputed leaders of this team — put a bow on a terrific postseason with his individual effort.
The junior ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns, each of his second-half scores cutting Miami’s deficit to three points.
Over four playoff games, Fletcher ran for 507 yards on 75 carries — a 6.76 yards per carry average — and two touchdowns while also catching a touchdown pass in the Fiesta Bowl.
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