The natty is officially in the books, and Carson Beck and the Miami Hurricanes officially are the last ones falling. Even though the Hurricanes exceeded expectations and performed far better than Alabama and Oregon combined, they still had a real shot at their first national title since 2001. In addition, Carson Beck also had a chance to make history and join the exclusive three-national-title club alongside players like Stetson Bennett and A.J. McCarron. Until that pick changed everything.

The former Georgia quarterback later opened up about the loss and where it all went wrong for Miami.

“It’s tough, especially battling the way that we did in the second half after not coming out too strong in the first half,” Beck said in his post-game presser. “But for a group that has faced so much adversity throughout the season, to face adversity early again and battle our way back just to have that opportunity – to have a chance to win the game at the end. It says a lot about this team and this program.

I’m super proud of these guys and super thankful for them. It really hurts, and it’s hard the way that it ended.”

Nobody in the playoffs gave the Indiana Hoosiers a run for their money like Miami. It was a total heartbreaker for Carson because Mario Cristobal’s guys were literally one play away from pulling off the win. They were down 27–21 and had the ball at Indiana’s 41-yard line with only 44 seconds left in the game. Everyone in the stadium was on their feet and praying for Carson Beck to lead a legendary game-winning drive.

But instead of a touchdown, he threw a deep pass that got intercepted by Jamari Sharpe to end it all. Then again, Beck’s never been a deep thrower of the pigskin. Even not in his time in Athens, apart from occasional hit-or-miss throws.

Besides that, Carson Beck played solid football. He led three big touchdown drives, including a massive 91-yard march down the field. By the end of the night, he actually finished with more passing yards (232) than Mendoza. Even Miami’s head honcho gave him credit.

When asked about his last-minute pick, Mario Cristobal didn’t shy away from taking a stand with Carson:

“We went together. We lose together. Proud of him. Like to have that last one back. But again, a lot of the plays made throughout the course of the year,” Mario Cristobal said. The guys up here on stage and the guys in the locker room got us to this moment and gave us an opportunity all the way to the end. I’m so proud of him and the plays he made.”

It’s only fair to cut Beck some slack and look at the larger breakdowns that derailed Miami’s comeback.

The actual reason for Miami’s loss

The elephant in the room has to be special teams mistakes in the third quarter. Miami was only trailing by three points when they had a punt blocked by Indiana’s Mikail Kamara. Indiana recovered it in the end zone for an easy touchdown, which suddenly put the Hurricanes at a 10-point deficit. From then on, it was a cat-and-mouse chase for the Hurricanes.

Another glaring ‘to be held accountable’ issue was that the offense just couldn’t get moving in the first half. They were stuck in the mud and only managed 69 total yards by halftime. Pretty embarrassing for a team of that talent-caliber. They went into halftime with zeros on the scoreboard after a missed field-goal attempt.

Even though they had a hard time in the first half, the Hurricanes meant business in the second half. Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. really woke everyone up with two touchdowns, and freshman Malachi Toney was a beast with over 100 yards receiving. Matter of fact, they actually out-gained Indiana in total yards (342 to 317), but they just couldn’t overcome their own mistakes, like being poor on third downs (only 3-of-11) and giving up way too many penalties.

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In the end, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza just wanted it more. He made the play of the century on a fourth-and-four, breaking four tackles and diving into the end zone for a touchdown that really put an end to Carson and Miami’s dream.