CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Carson Beck was only 17 when he enrolled at Georgia. Just a kid, completely unaware of what the next six years would bring. Had no idea he'd become a lightning rod for criticism. Had no idea his elbow would need to be surgically rebuilt. Had no idea that every start, every pass, every mistake, everything he did was going to be scrutinized.
His college career ends Monday night. He can get the last laugh.
Beck's final game before he turns pro will be for the College Football Playoff national championship, with he and Miami (13-2, No. 10 CFP) taking on Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Indiana (15-0, No. 1 CFP) in a game to be played on the Hurricanes' home field in Miami Gardens.
“It's been a hell of a ride," Beck said. “And man, there’s just been so much good and so much else that I’ve went through — I don’t want to necessarily say it’s bad because I wouldn’t be in the position I am today if I didn’t go through it. But it has been unbelievable. I wouldn’t have changed anything.”
He came to Miami for his final season with this in mind, and believing the Hurricanes had enough to win it all. There were doubters from the start. There were even more doubters when Miami went 1-2 over a three-game stretch midway through the season. The Hurricanes are 7-0 since.
“There were people who believed we’d be in this game and they're the people who are in this building," Beck said. "Even though nobody on the outside thought it could happen on November 1st after we lost to SMU ... so many people were saying, ‘just another failure of a season for the ’Canes,' all those things.
“We heard it all. We made the decision to finish this thing the right way. And shoot, we’re here.”
They're here because he made the last 3:13 of the CFP national semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl his masterpiece.
Miami had just fallen behind 27-24 to Mississippi with the game, the season, his college career and likely a good chunk of his legacy on the line. And then Beck decided the time was right to give a quick speech, the sort that Hollywood would turn into screenplays.
“Man, this is what we worked for,” Beck told his offense going into that moment. “This is what we live for. This is why you play the game of football. This is why you come to the University of Miami is for moments like this; to play in these big games, to have these big moments. Are we going to respond or are we not? What are we going to do?”
The speech worked.
Beck led Miami on a 15-play, 75-yard march that ate up all but the last 18 seconds of the game. He was 6 for 11 passing on that drive for 49 yards — losing what might have been one big completion when star receiver Malachi Toney made a spectacular leaping grab but came down out of bounds. Beck wasn't trying to throw to Toney; he was trying to throw to CJ Daniels. Toney just went up and got it. ("I was like, ‘What just happened?’" Beck said.)
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Unrattled, the drive continued, Beck found Keelan Marion for gains of 17 and 11 yards to get Miami on the doorstep. And then Beck ran in from 3 yards out for the winning score after all of his receiver options — the play was supposed to be a pass — were covered.
“Tribute to him, testament to him and his teammates,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “So many different things on that drive that were executed at a high level. Handful of third downs that were not the easiest in the world. But elite protection. Elite route running. Contested catches. Being hard to tackle. ... When it comes down to it, the resilience, the toughness — we just felt that that game, it just meant more to our guys, and they were going to find a way to get it done.”
Miami works on 2-minute drives all the time. Beck did some extra work on the way to the stadium for the Fiesta Bowl.
Turns out, traffic might have helped Miami get to the title game. Tom Brady had a role, too.
Beck usually just listens to music before games, but the bus ride from the hotel to the Fiesta Bowl was longer than usual. He decided to watch highlight videos instead — specifically, ones of Brady's best 2-minute drills from his NFL career.
“I’ll be damned if I’m not sitting there on the sideline and they get in the end zone," Beck said. “He's the greatest quarterback to ever play, but I mean, that video kind of gave me confidence and got me calm and cool in the moment to just go out there and do what I did.”
Despite the criticism — and it has come in bunches at Beck over the years, with many Georgia fans making clear that they weren't sad to see him leave — he usually finds a way to do exactly that, to get it done.
He's 37-5 as a starter. Among quarterbacks at the FBS level who were still active this season, Beck ranks No. 1 in career wins as a starter (37) and passing yards (11,493), plus is second behind Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia in touchdown passes — Pavia has 88, Beck has 87.
The stats do not matter to Beck, at least not right now. One game for a title. Go 1-0 this week, as Cristobal always says. Beck's final ride in college has arrived and he can write the perfect ending to his story.
“I don’t know if it’s hit me yet, to be honest," Beck said. "I feel like during the game, or probably when the game starts, it will. It’ll be a thought that crosses my mind. Knowing that it is my last college football game ever and it being a national championship, what an opportunity. And regardless of what happens, what a season as well.”
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