After a dominant start to the season, past problems returned to haunt Carson Beck, Miami in loss to Louisville

Miami hasn’t played many interesting games this season – and that’s a compliment. There were no up-and-down performances, just competent wins. Until now, Miami had shown control and an ability to impose itself in various ways. The Hurricanes could win a fight, like they did against Notre Dame; an ugly game, like they did against Florida; or one where they entered a hostile environment and held off an overmatched opponent, as they did against Florida State.

They seemed built too solidly along both lines of scrimmage — with too many playmakers, an elite defense and a veteran quarterback — to fall victim to the ups and downs that plagued them in 2024. But it was a trap game, and the Canes fell right into it. In a 24-21 defeat in Louisville, last year’s Canes arrived.

Carson Beck threw Miami out of this game, to the tune of four interceptions. (He only had three all season before the party.)

“The first one, the kid made an unbelievable play,” Beck said of Antonio Watts’ diving interception early in the second quarter on a deep shot to his favorite target, Malachi Toney.

“The second one, the ball just didn’t come out well. He had a beat,” Beck said of the second interception, a Jabari Mack play where Mack bites on Beck’s pump fake but still recovers to sink under a tipped ball.

The third interception, according to Beck, was just a missed throw. It was actually the second interception he threw on the drive, but a roughing the passer penalty erased the first. The one remaining ended up in the hands of JoJo Evans – a crucial turning point in the game, as Louisville had just increased its lead to 11 points.

But it was the fourth and final pick that killed Miami’s chance for a game-tying field goal to force overtime. The Hurricanes had all three timeouts and felt confident they could move the ball to gain additional yards for their kicker. Louisville brought several extra defenders to the line of scrimmage, but ended up bringing five of seven threats. One of the players who dropped out was TJ Capers, who threw the second interception of his career.

“We played a perfect game, we just had a miscommunication with the course and what we were doing,” Beck said. “SO [Elija Lofton] I just ran the route poorly, and I went to throw it, because we were out of pressure, and again, he made a good play on that, but it definitely didn’t help that we ran the wrong play.”

Miami had only played one game since September 20 and the rust showed early. On its first drive, Louisville — fresh off its own home opener — drove 75 yards in 11 plays, including a fake field goal near the goal line. The Cardinals scored again on their next drive to put Miami in a 14-0 hole, uncharted territory for this team.

It was the first time all season the Hurricanes trailed by more than 10 points. They clawed back the deficit, but never took the lead. The closest was the final three-point margin, which Louisville gave them after an Isaiah Brown fumble gave Miami a short field following Beck’s third interception.

Louisville shredded Miami in the middle of the pack, with Caulin Lacey and Chris Bell regularly turning drag routes into big wins. Quarterback Miller Moss got the ball out quickly, neutralizing the Canes’ vaunted pass rush. Miami’s only sack came during a blitz led by a defensive back.

“After those 14 points, I thought we calmed down, put our cleats in the ground and started playing good defense. They’re a very good offense, a very good player, but we definitely need to be able to move the sticks and score some points to help the defense do well,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “At the end of the game, I think we only ran 59 plays. A lot of that was because we didn’t sustain our drives. That’s not a good number of plays for our offense.”

What’s troubling about this loss is that the central idea behind this Miami team failed. The theory was that Beck, in a new setting with a stable offensive line in front of him, would be able to do just enough with playmakers CJ Daniels and Malachi Toney in an Air Raid-style passing game tied to a physical running game. But when the running game faltered and the pressure shifted to the passing attack, the pipe burst.

The sloppiness that kept them from playing for an ACC title or a College Football Playoff berth last year has returned with a vengeance — and with a conference title race expected to feature a logjam of teams at the top, Miami’s margin for error is gone.

This makes the rest of their season much more interesting.