Carson Beck broke the QB code after 4-INT performance in Louisville loss
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Carson Beck and his head coach, Mario Cristobal, were in lockstep following a 24-21 upset loss to Louisville on Friday night.
The Cardinals knocked off No. 2 Miami inside Hard Rock Stadium to deal the Hurricanes their first loss of the season. A 3-point road win was made possible, in large part, by a plus-3 turnover margin. Louisville picked off quarterback Carson Beck 4 times, including on a first-and-10 play from the Cards’ 31-yard line with 33 seconds to go.
Beck’s final interception sealed the loss. Miami was questioned for throwing the ball despite already (technically) being in field goal range. Cristobal said Miami was trying to win the game at that point, noting the 2 timeouts it still had. Both he and Beck said the intended target on the play — tight end Elija Lofton — ran the wrong route.
That kind of statement from a head coach isn’t outside the norm. But some felt Beck broke an unspoken quarterback rule for throwing his teammate under the bus.
“Don’t put that all on (Beck),” Cristobal said of the fourth interception. “We’re trying to get the ball out to the flat quick, and that thing turned into another route that was not supposed to be that way, and it ended up being the final play of the game.”
Added Beck: “We have a perfect play for (that defensive look). We just had a miscommunication with the route and what we were doing. Ran the route wrong. I went to go throw it because we’re hot off a pressure and, again, (the DB) made a good play on it but it definitely didn’t help that we ran the wrong play.”
Louisville linebacker TJ Capers had the play snuffed out from early on. It’s possible he would have gotten a hand on Beck’s pass regardless of the route Lofton ran.
Cristobal said Miami expected Louisville to use the pressure look it did on that play. He said Miami felt it “had a safe throw” but “just didn’t execute.”
Beck completed 25 of his 35 passes for 271 yards. He had a fifth pass that was intercepted earlier in the fourth quarter, but that play was negated by a Louisville penalty and the ball was given back to Miami.
Beck voicing his frustration so publicly in the postgame drew the ire of some who felt he should have protected his teammate.
“In wins, take no credit. In losses, take all the blame,” former Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano posted on social media. “Life will be a battle doing this, but the people closest to you will love & respect you.”
A Georgia-based outlet posted that “some things don’t change,” referencing some of the issues that led to the breakup between Beck and Georgia last fall.
Cristobal said he believes Beck will respond in a positive way.
“There is no other way. There is no other choice,” Cristobal said. When you play really good teams and you’re playing conference teams, the margins are really small. One-possession games reign supreme at this time of year. If you give away plays, it’s going to get you. Tonight, it got us. Lessons have to be learned, and we have to go do something about it. Talking about it ain’t going to do anything.”
With a loss in league play and the potential for 3 ACC teams to exit Week 8 still unbeaten in conference, Miami no longer controls its own destiny in the ACC title race. The Hurricanes face Stanford next Saturday.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
