Miami had nine drives in SMU territory on Saturday in a 26-20 overtime loss. The inability to convert drives on the SMU side of the field into more points contributed significantly to the loss on Saturday. Miami failed to score touchdowns on two different drives inside the SMU 10-yard line.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck received an 88.6 Pro Football Focus grade on plays in Miami territory and a 58.6 grade on the SMU side of the field. Beck completed 26 passes in 38 attempts for 274 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The first Beck interception occurred when JoJo Trader bobbled a pass and Ahmaad Moses intercepted at the Miami 43 and returned it to the Hurricanes' 28. SMU scored on a Kevin Jennings to Yamir Knight TD pass on the first play after the interception.
Miami scored on its second drive of the game and first in SMU territory on a Beck to Trader 36-yard TD pass to take a 7-0 lead. On the drive after the TD, Miami drove 44 yards in nine plays in 5:50. Miami got as deep as the SMU 23 on that drive.
A 25-yard pass from Beck to Trader put Miami in SMU territory on that drive. After the completion to Trader, Miami ran three plays for 11 yards and had two penalties for 25 yards. The penalties pushed Miami back to the 50 yard line and the Hurricanes eventually punted.
It took Miami three more drives before getting back into SMU territory. Miami had a six-play 21-yard drive end at the SMU 44 yard line. Beck completed a pass to Keelan Marion for 16 yards to the SMU 47-yard line. Beck threw two incompletions and Mark Fletcher had a four-yard run before Miami had to punt.
The final Miami drive of the first half began at the SMU nine-yard line following a 47-yard punt return by Malachi Toney. Miami began the drive with 49 seconds remaining and the score tied at seven. Beck completed one pass for five yards to tight end Elija Lofton in three attempts for five yards before kicking a field goal.
Miami answered an SMU TD drive to start the second half with their own to regain the lead, 17-14. Beck had an 18-yard completion to Toney to put Miami into SMU territory. Miami needed two plays to score once in SMU territory. Fletcher had a 14-yard run and Beck threw a four-yard TD pass to TE Alex Bauman.
The Hurricanes certainly did enough wrong to deserve a loss. They did not play particularly well.
— Adam Lichtenstein (@ABLichtenstein) November 1, 2025
But between this play, the Keelan Marion hold and the strip sack that wasn’t, they really got hurt by the refs. https://t.co/ePeYZABxaE
Miami went nine plays, 45 yards in 4:16 on the next drive. An eight-yard completion from Beck to Toney to the SMU 49 passed midfield. The Hurricanes ran five plays for 15 yards once they passed midfield. Mario Cristobal elected to go for it on fourth and one instead of kicking the field and SMU stopped Miami on downs.
A successful field goal would have put Miami up 20-14. If would have been a 48-yard field goal attempt. Entering Saturday, Miami kicker Carter Davis made two of three FGAs from 40 to 49 yards. SMU drove for a game-tying field goal after stopping Miami on downs.
Miami answered the SMU field goal with their own score to regain the lead at 23-20. After two Beck completions, a Fletcher four-yard run put Miami at the SMU 48. The next five Miami plays gained 24 yards before SMU stopped the Hurricanes on third and one from the 25-yard line. Davis made a 45 field goal to put Miami ahead 23-20.
The final Miami drive in SMU territory was in overtime. After Miami gained 18 yards on four plays, Beck threw an interception on third and six from the SMU seven-yard line. SMU answered in six plays to earn the 26-20 overtime win.
Miami is 26th nationally, converting 90.91 percent of its red zone opportunities into scores. The Hurricanes are 22nd, converting 72.73 percent of their red zone opportunities into TDs and 87th with 18.18 percent ending in field goals. On Saturday, Miami had a FG and a TD in two red zone trips, but many more opportunities to get into the red zone.