Carson Beck ended a brutal drought with an incredible touchdown pass to Keelan Marion during the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes' CFP semifinal matchup against the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday night.
Beck is playing the final year of his collegiate career. Winning two national championships with Georgia throughout his six years there, he left so he could help Miami compete at the national level.
Safe to say he achieved that objective after getting them to the College Football Playoff. However, his CFP history in one particular statistic was brutal as he was 0-of-9 in completing passes for 15 or more yards in the air, per ESPN Insights.
Fortunately for the experienced quarterback, he finally achieved his first long pass after throwing the ball to Marion for a deep touchdown score in the second quarter.
Carson Beck was 0-9 passing 15+ air yards in the CFP prior to his deep TD to Keelan Marion in the 2nd quarter 👀 › pic.twitter.com/8rCceP0kko
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) January 9, 2026
How Carson Beck, Miami played against Ole Miss
Carson Beck achieved his objective as he led the game-winning drive to have Miami beat Ole Miss 31-27 in the semifinals.
Both teams constantly traded blows throughout the course of the game, refusing to create any distance from one another. However, Beck scored the game-winning touchdown in the final minute as the Rebels couldn't get a touchdown in their final drive.
Beck gets to take part in his third championship game, seeking his third title to end his collegiate career. He completed 23 passes out of 37 attempts for 268 yards and two touchdowns and one interception while adding the aforementioned game-winning rushing score.
Mark Fletcher Jr. was active on the ground for Miami, racking up 22 carries for 133 yards. CharMar Brown followed suit with 14 rushes for 54 yards and a touchdown. As for the receiving game, Keelan Marion led the way with seven catches for 114 yards and a touchdown. Malachi Toney came next with five receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown, while CJ Daniels caught four passes for 26 yards.
The No. 10 Hurricanes will look forward to their matchup in the national championship, hosting it at Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 19. They face the winner between No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon, who plays each other on Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
