Well, Carson Beck taking the reins at Miami is a tough pill to swallow for many. Coming off a rocky season behind a shaky offensive line, 12 interceptions don’t exactly scream excellence. On top of that, he’s replacing Cam Ward, who completely transformed Miami’s fortunes last year. Ward led them to a 10-2 record, capped off with a 13th-place finish in the final CFB rankings. He won the ACC Player of the Year award, finished 4th in the Heisman race, and went number one overall in the NFL draft. Following Ward’s success with Beck feels like an impossible task, and the constant comparisons are only adding fuel to the fire.

There’s no denying that Cam Ward’s production is stellar. This guy ran a freak show last season by throwing for 4,313 yards, 39 TDs with a 67.2 completion rate, and just 7 interceptions. Whereas Beck threw for 3,485 yards and 28 TDs with a 64.7% completion rate and 12 costly interceptions. But let’s not forget, despite inconsistencies, he took his team to the playoffs, which Ward couldn’t. Despite that, Beck’s addition is raising a lot of questions.

Now, Mario Cristobal‘s team is taking to the CFB field with a new QB this season, but bookmaker odds and analyst predictions are pushing fans away from championship hopes. That’s right, during an unfiltered conversation on the Unnecessary Roughness podcast, Kayce Smith highlights Miami’s projected win total of 8.5 this season. The reason behind it? Carson Beck’s inconsistency. “Carson Beck has never been a needle mover for me, and it’s like they have such a seismic downgrade at quarterback in my opinion, and Cam Ward won them a lot and a lot of games.” Liam Blutman said. “They find ways to lose games that they should not lose; they find ways to have the Miami meltdown, so I lean towards the under eight and a half.”

Sure, Carson Beck had his fair share of inconsistencies last season, but it wasn’t entirely his fault. Thirty-six dropped passes significantly hampered his performance. A closer look reveals further issues: his interception rate doubled (1.4% to 2.7%), yards per attempt fell (9.5 to 7.8), and yards per completion dropped slightly (13.0 to 12.0). Georgia’s receiving corps significantly underperformed.

On top of that, Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey‘s departures left a void, leaving Beck without the necessary weapons to excel consistently. His struggles weren’t entirely due to a lack of skill, but also a lack of support. But despite those cracks, even Brandon Walker issued a tough reality check. “I think Beck, I don’t like hate. I think Beck has gotten so much hate that sometimes I find myself defending him slightly, but if we’re comparing, like, him and Cam Ward, I mean, it’s not even close, right?” Walker said.

Worst part? Brandon pegs their win total even lower than Liam did. “I know Miami had some good offensive line this year; they had some draft picks, but I don’t know. I just don’t see them like Liam said, like I think Cam really, like, without Cam Ward, if they just have, like, even a slightly above average, like, Power Five, Power Four quarterback, they win probably, like, six or seven games.” That doesn’t set the right tone for Carson Beck’s debut season with the Hurricanes.

But unlike others, JD PicKell is pretty sure that Carson Beck is going to turn Miami’s trajectory upwards this season. He said, “I love where he’s going to be at Miami, and I think that ultimately the Canes here in 2025 will be right back in that mix to potentially win the ACC and get over the hump being in the College Football Playoff, and grabbing a guy like Carson Beck is a massive reason as to why I believe that’s the case.” 

And he’s not the only one trusting Carson Beck’s caliber.

Carson Beck’s turning into a real threat for rival team

This fall, Carson Beck takes center stage as Miami football’s new quarterback. Aiming for a strong final college season, Beck is focused on making his mark in Coral Gables after leaving Georgia. Even opponents are taking notice of Beck’s proven talent and potential. Rival teams are already strategizing to contain him, especially in the red zone. Notre Dame, a major threat, is intensely studying Miami’s revamped offense. Their defensive coordinator, Chris Ash, is preparing his team for their opening game. “Every year, an offense or a defense can change based off of just what they feel they need to do schematically or the players that they have,” Ash said.

Beck’s 2024 performance has been inconsistent. While early success, including 222.7 yards per game, zero interceptions, and seven touchdowns in his first three games, showcased his potential, struggles soon followed. A disastrous Alabama game, where he managed only two completions for 19 yards and an interception in the first quarter, highlighted his volatility. By Week 9, his 12 interceptions tied him with six other quarterbacks, raising concerns.

However, Carson Beck’s high ceiling remains evident; his 2023 season featured career highs of 3,941 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and only six interceptions—statistics Miami’s coach hopes to see replicated. That’s precisely what Ash is preparing for. “In this type of situation, you gotta look at what Carson did at Georgia, what were his strengths, what were his weaknesses, what he did well? How does that fit into what Miami did last year and maybe try to identify some things that maybe could do different with him,” Ash explained, offering insight into how Notre Dame plans to counter Beck’s skill set.

Both programs are at a turning point, each with a new quarterback ready to revolutionize their offense. Notre Dame, burning with ambition to win a national championship, is intensely focused on a strong start. “We’ll study Miami from last year. We’ll study Carson’s film from Georgia,” Ash said. “At the end of the day, for me, it’s more important about how we show up, how we play, how we execute the fundamentals we use, and how we bring those calls to life on defense.”

Now that both teams gear up for their showdown, all eyes will be on whether Carson Beck can prove he’s the right man to lead Miami forward or not.