Carson Beck's college football legacy could be defined by a game-winning drive to send Miami to the national championship game.
Carson Beck game-winning drive: How Miami QB led 'Canes past Ole Miss and into national title game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Miami's run to the College Football Playoff semifinals was spearheaded by a stellar defense, which begged the question of what would happen if and when quarterback Carson Beck had to go win a game himself.
Consider that question answered.
With a three-point deficit and about three minutes to tie or win the Fiesta Bowl, Beck put the Hurricanes on his back and led a game-winning drive to sink Ole Miss and send Miami to the national championship game with a 31-27 victory.
Here's a look at the drive that sent Miami to the title game.
MORE:Why Carson Beck transferred from Georgia to Miami
Carson Beck game-winning drive
The concern for Miami after Malachi Toney's go-ahead touchdown was that far too much time was left on the clock for Trinidad Chambliss and Ole Miss. As it turned out, Chambliss left too much time for Beck and the Hurricanes.
Beck got the ball in his hands with 3:13 remaining and led a methodical drive from his own 25-yard line, going 75 yards for the victory.
Miami didn't slice right through Ole Miss' defense. The Rebels did make them work for it, as the 'Canes quickly faced a couple of third downs but converted one and saw the second turn into an automatic first down when Ole Miss was called for a facemask penalty.
That penalty pushed Miami into Rebels territory, where the Hurricanes converted another third down on a 7-yard pass from Beck to CJ Daniels.
After back-to-back incompletions in fringe field goal range, perhaps the biggest turning point of the drive came when Beck found Keelan Marion for 17 yards on third down to take Miami into the red zone. Marion picked up one more first down, and the 'Canes were able to bleed the clock a little bit more before Beck saw a lane open up wide and ran in for the game-winning touchdown.
The play wasn't designed for a Beck run, and Beck certainly isn't known for mobility. The sixth-year senior looked around and didn't see a viable option until he looked to his left and saw nothing but room to rumble into the end zone with 18 seconds remaining. It was the second-latest go-ahead touchdown in regulation in College Football Playoff history, behind only Hunter Renfrow's title-winning touchdown for Clemson. Beck finished the drive 6 for 11 for 49 yards.
MORE:Did Carson Beck won a championship at Georgia?
Carson Beck game-winning TD video
Here's a look at Beck's game-winning touchdown run with 18 seconds remaining:
MIAMI WITH A SPOT IN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE LINE! 🔥
— ESPN (@espn) January 9, 2026
Canes takes the lead with 18 seconds left 😳 pic.twitter.com/PI9RRBqGau
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Carson Beck stats vs. Ole Miss
- Comp. rate: 62.2% (23/37)
- Pass yards: 268
- Pass TD: 2
- INT: 1
- Rush att.: 12
- Rush yards: -6
- Rush TD: 1
Beck threw for 268 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in Miami's Fiesta Bowl victory, also rushing for the game-winning touchdown.
Because lost yardage on sacks count toward rushing yardage totals in college, Beck's rushing numbers don't tell the full story. He was willing to put his body on the line more than once in Thursday's game, frequently using his legs and rolling into the end zone on the biggest play of his life for only his second rushing touchdown of the season.
Category: General Sports
