Here’s to you, Carson Beck.
Never the most beloved of quarterbacks during his time at Georgia, Beck went into the transfer portal and took his talents and his Zoolander-esque collection of facial expressions to South Beach. There, Miami hoped he’d lead the Hurricanes into the College Football Playoff and maybe, just maybe, a national championship.
So much for that, right?
After losing to SMU in overtime, Miami is a distant seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings and probably has no shot at an at-large College Football Playoff berth. Beck’s poor performance is a big reason why the Hurricanes are in this position. He threw four interceptions in a 24-21 loss at home to Louisville on Oct. 17, then threw another pick in OT this past Saturday against SMU.
Granted, Miami’s current predicament is not all Beck’s fault. Coach Mario Cristobal, who has a reputation for making strange decisions late in close games, added another one to the list at SMU when he chose to have Beck kneel at the end of regulation rather than try to get Miami in position for a game-winning field goal.
One big difference? Cristobal actually took accountability for the Hurricanes’ loss, telling reporters after the game, “At the end of the day, like I told the guys, you’ve got to be a grown man and face it. When things go wrong, that’s when all the rats come out and try to peck at you. You have to tell them to … you know what. And go to work. And do it emphatically with guts.”
Beck took a … decidedly different approach. He blamed the play call on his interception in OT. “They ran the same play the whole time,” Beck told reporters, adding, “I just execute the play that is called.”
It’s not the first time this season that Beck has faulted others for his own mistakes. After the Louisville loss, he blamed his fourth pick on the receiver for not running the correct route.
Pretty gross behavior from your quarterback and one of the guys supposed to be your team leaders. Taking accountability is part of the deal. That’s what winners do.
And if Beck’s ability to throw people under the bus equaled his ability to throw the football, Miami still might be one of the top teams in the nation right now.
Oh well. Chin up, Carson. If you can’t make the playoff, you can at least take this ‘L.’