Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said he's wearing the 24–21 loss to Louisville, taking responsibility for a four-turnover night that knocked the Hurricanes from the unbeaten ranks.
"I take the brunt of the blame for all of it. I lay in bed and said what could I have done to help us avoid this game."Shannon Dawson
UM OC Shannon Dawson after Beck's 4 pick night and a poor 21-point output: "I take the brunt of the blame for all of it. I lay in bed and said what could I have done to help us avoid this game." He said he should have, after a timeout, made sure everyone was on same page before…
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) October 20, 2025
Miami's offense produced 334 yards and was undone by four interceptions from quarterback Carson Beck as the second-ranked Hurricanes fell at home Friday night. Louisville opened with two first-quarter touchdowns and mixed in wrinkles — including a fake field goal — to keep Miami off balance. The Cardinals sealed the upset with a late interception, ending the Hurricanes' perfect start and home winning streak.
Beck completed 25 of 35 passes for 271 yards but no touchdowns, and the Hurricanes finished 5 of 12 on third down. After the game, Beck ended up catching some heat for explaining the miscommunication on the final INT thrown in the direction of TE Elija Lofton. As the QB who is getting the highest NIL paycheck in the sport, many fans would have just liked to see Beck take the blame and not even bother explaining that Lofton ran the route wrong. Others argued that he had been asked multiple times about the play, and since it was confirmed that there was miscommunication by other coaches, he was well within his right to explain what happened.
I get it Carson Beck was upset their undefeated season was ruined but blaming the WR here when he didn’t play well at all as the QB isn’t a great look. https://t.co/aRoCIWBFQY pic.twitter.com/f1u7S2ljRZ
— Jeff Lightsy Jr. (@jlightsy7) October 18, 2025
To help take some blame off the QB1, Dawson came in and said that he blamed himself. That gesture could go a long way in making sure Beck has the confidence needed to continue to play at a high level after the awful game.
The loss dropped Miami to 5–1, 1–1 in the ACC, and punctured early College Football Playoff momentum. Louisville, now 5–1 overall and 2–1 within the conference, is ahead of Miami in the ACC standings with the head-to-head tiebreaker in hand.
The schedule leaves little time to dwell. Miami returns to Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday to host Stanford and now needs losses from the top teams in the ACC — and to run the table — to make the conference championship game.