MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The last play of Carson Beck's college career was a deep ball down the left sideline and into double coverage. It was intercepted by Indiana's Jamari Sharpe, sealing Miami's 27-21 loss in the College Football Playoff National Championship game Monday night.
It was, Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal said, the right call that simply went wrong. It was a mistake that ended a frenetic comeback and a magical season. It was a miscommunication, but in the aftermath, the eye black on his cheeks smeared from tears, Beck shouldered the blame.
"For it to end like that is hard," said Beck, who threw for 232 yards and a touchdown in his final college game. "It's really tough, especially to battle the way that we did in the second half. To have a chance to win at the end, it says a lot about us. But to lose it -- it really hurts."
Miami fought back again and again in the second half, and Beck drove the Canes to the Indiana 41 with 51 seconds left, trailing by six points. The Hoosiers were in a Cover-2 defense. Miami had wanted to take shots against this look a handful of times earlier in the game, and now Beck saw his opening.
He dropped back, and he launched the ball deep for receiver Keelan Marion. But Marion never turned to look for the ball, which drifted inside. Sharpe reached out, made the catch, and that was it.
The game and Beck's career were over.
"He's played really good football through the course of the season and his best football toward the end. He's got nothing to be ashamed about," offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. "He'll get the credit he deserves. The people that know will see how good a career he had. He came up a play short in the national championship game, but we came a long way this year, and he had a lot to do with that with his leadership and resilience."
The interception will add another wrinkle to the complicated legacy of Beck's career -- from prized prospect at Georgia, through frustrating losses and a devastating shoulder injury, to this unlikely run to the brink of a championship.
Beck ends his college career with a record of 37-6 as a starter.
He entered the 2024 season with the Bulldogs as a potential No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Beck threw for nearly 3,500 yards and 28 touchdowns, but 12 interceptions set him up as the primary target for frustrated Georgia fans.
He transferred to Miami, where he spent the spring rehabbing a shoulder injury and his reputation. He finished the 2025 season with almost identical numbers -- 3,581 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, the last one ending Miami's season on its home field, 41 yards shy of a national championship.
"I'm just so grateful to have had the opportunity to play quarterback at this university," Beck said. "[Cristobal] gave me an opportunity when he didn't know what it was going to look like."
Each of Miami's three losses this season ended the same way -- with a Beck pick. This one was particularly devastating.
Indiana safeties coach Ola Adams said Miami caught the Hoosiers in a coverage Beck could exploit downfield for a big gain, with a safety sinking a step out of position. But Marion never realized the ball was coming his way, and Beck's pass sailed toward the inside of the field and short of Marion's route.
"It was just probably a miscommunication on the read and what was going on," Marion said. "It's definitely [my] mistake. I got to look for the ball and make that play for him. So, that's all on me."
Marion left the field in tears with a trainer's arm around his shoulder.
Beck was equally distraught, and when he was asked to put the moment into perspective, he sighed and shook his head.
"Oh, man," he said. "I'm just grateful for that opportunity and this whole team and what we were able to accomplish. For it to end this way, it hurts really bad, but it was a hell of a season."
ESPN's Pete Thamel contributed to this report.
