Carson Beck's college career ended the way he and Miami fans least wanted it to end: with a deep shot into double coverage, an interception, and the Hurricanes watching a title slip away. It's part of a long, complicated story of setbacks and success for Beck.
Indiana beat Miami 27-21 in the CFP national championship game Monday night, sealing it when defensive back Jamari Sharpe picked off Beck with under a minute left. Beck drove Miami to the Indiana 41 with 51 seconds remaining before the final throw.
Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal called it "the right call" that simply went wrong. Beck, emotional afterward, said the ending "really hurts" because Miami "had a chance to win at the end."
A complicated legacy:
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) January 20, 2026
Carson Back lost just six games in his college career.
In four of them, the final offensive play was a Beck INT with a chance to win the game.
The complicated legacy of Carson Beck
That last pass added to the complicated legacy of Beck’s career. He finished 37-6 as a starter, a winning clip most quarterbacks would die for. But in four of those six losses, the final offensive play for his team was a Beck interception with the game still hanging in the balance.
Starting with the national title game. Beck launched a deep ball down the left sideline to Keelan Marion, but Marion never turned for it and the pass drifted inside. Sharpe made the catch and that was it for Miami.
Back on Oct. 17, Miami's unbeaten start took its first major hit in a 24-21 loss to Louisville. The Hurricanes were already in field-goal range late, but Cardinals defensive back TJ Capers intercepted Beck's pass with 32 seconds left to finish it. Beck threw four interceptions that night, and that was his worst game as a starter for Miami. It was a time where his stock was perhaps at its lowest. The initial undefeated start at Miami silenced many, but when he played poorly against Louisville, his doubters jumped at the opportunity to say, "I told you so."
Two weeks later, the Canes fell again, this time to SMU. Miami had the ball first in overtime of a 26-20 loss, and Beck was intercepted just short of the goal line. SMU then walked it off with a short touchdown run. At this point Miami's playoff hopes were very low, and again, the conversation around Beck was that he simply couldn't get it done in big moments.
Going further back to his time at Georgia, fans still remember the game Tuscaloosa in 2024. Alabama beat Georgia 41-34, and Zabien Brown intercepted Beck in the end zone with 43 seconds left, ending the Bulldogs' last push at a huge comeback. In that game he threw three INTs. Those were his first INTs of the year, but then Beck suffered a four game stretch where he threw nine INTs. That is where the turnover-prone label comes from.
The other two losses in Beck's college career did not end on a final interception. Against Ole Miss in 2024, Beck threw one INT and against Alabama in the 2023 SEC title game he didn't throw an interception.
Beck brought Miami all the way to the CFP title game after transferring in and rehabbing a shoulder injury. He finished the 2025 season with 3,581 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, almost a mirror of his final year at Georgia. But the number everyone focuses on is the interceptions. And the turnovers have defined what part of the public thinks about him as a player.
Beck will now take the next step in his football career and enter the 2026 NFL Draft. One of the biggest things he'll have to face is NFL scouts questioning his ability to take care of the football. But, he'll also be able to hang his hat on top-tier experience and multiple big-time wins. That should at least be able to convince one team to take a chance on him in April.