Coming off a bye week, the Miami Hurricanes faced a huge ACC game at home on Friday night against Louisville. At 5-0, Miami was the second-ranked team in the country after rolling to wins in their first five games. This was a pivotal matchup for quarterback Carson Beck and head coach Mario Cristobal, who needed a win to prove that the Hurricanes were for real.
Miami’s schedule is favorable this season, with no games outside the state of Florida until November 1 against SMU. However, when the dust settled, Beck had thrown four interceptions, and the Cardinals left South Florida with a 24-21 victory.
Two of Beck’s interceptions came in the fourth quarter, including one on Miami’s final drive when they were in field goal range and had a chance to tie the game and force overtime.
### Carson Beck Throws Wide Receivers Under the Bus After Louisville Loss
After the game, Beck initially took accountability for his four interceptions. But when asked by a reporter about the last interception and why he didn’t expect a defender nearby, his explanation shifted.
“I mean, we have a perfect play for it,” said Beck. “We just had a miscommunication with that route and what we were doing. So he just ran the route wrong, and I went to throw because we were hot off a pressure and he made a good play on it, but it definitely didn’t help that we ran the wrong play.”
Despite the struggles, the fact that Miami was still in the game at that point was surprising. Beck had already thrown three interceptions, including one in plus territory earlier in the quarter. The Hurricanes’ defense then forced a fumble on Louisville’s next play, leading to a touchdown that trimmed the deficit to just three points.
With 38 seconds left on the clock, Miami was in field goal range. So, why did Cristobal decide to pass the ball instead of taking a safer option?
### Miami Needs Help to Get to the ACC Championship Game
Compared to losses later in the season, like those Cristobal experienced last year, this defeat came at the midway point. With the loss, reaching the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte is now largely out of Miami’s control. They will need to win out and hope for some favorable results elsewhere — neither of which is guaranteed.
“The message is being very real and honest,” Cristobal said. “That’s a really poor job of execution and discipline. That means all of us—everybody in the organization. Every coach, every player. We take it. We win together, we lose together. When we say execution, it falls on the players, it falls on the coaches, it falls on myself, and after having some really good performances and having some really good practices, that’s really disappointing.”
There is no doubt it was a disappointing performance. Four interceptions thrown by Beck and only 62 yards rushing are not stats that win many games. Miami also struggled early, falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter. Ultimately, Beck’s inability to avoid big mistakes was the Hurricanes’ undoing in this crucial ACC showdown.
https://heavy.com/sports/college-football/miami-hurricanes/carson-beck-commens-louisville-loss/
