Arguably no team has gotten off to a more impressive start to the 2025 college football season than the Miami football program, who are currently ranked at number three ahead of this week's highly anticipated matchup against Florida State. Miami has taken the country by storm so far this year, vaulting up the rankings despite the vast amount of talent they lost through both the transfer portal and the NFL Draft this past offseason.
Still, not everyone is so convinced of the Hurricanes' viability as a legit national title contender. Recently, college football insider Todd McShay identified a potentially fatal flaw that could manifest for Miami at some point this season.
“The thing that’s missing from what I can see between them being a really good team that's up there in the rankings and all that stuff, but like legitimately being a team that can win a national championship. And I don't know if it's something they can solve. I don't know if it's going to be overnight. I don't know what it is. I don't know like when or if. There’s a lack of a vertical passing game that's obvious for Miami,” said McShay, per The McShay Show.
“I would put a little bit more weight honestly on the quarterback because there have been open receivers and he’s missed them. So the onus in on (Carson) Beck,” he added.
Is Carson Beck holding Miami back?
Carson Beck got off to a strong start to the Miami football season in the win over Notre Dame, but hasn't been as efficient since then, as McShay noted. Accuracy issues and poor decision-making in big spots plagued Beck last year with the Georgia Bulldogs, which ultimately is what opened the door for him to return to college football instead of entering the NFL Draft.
Amazingly, Miami has yet to play a road game this year as the season approaches its midway point, so it will be interesting to see how the Hurricanes handle the hostile environment in Tallahassee on Saturday.
That game is slated to kick off at 7:30 PM ET.
