Louisville v Miami
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Miami hasn't played many interesting games this season -- and that's a compliment. There haven't been roller-coaster performances, just competent victories. To date, Miami had shown control and an ability to come out on top in a variety of ways. The Hurricanes could win a slugfest, like they did against Notre Dame; an ugly game, like they did against Florida; or one where they went into a hostile environment and held an overmatched opponent at bay, like they did against Florida State.

They seemed built too solidly along both lines of scrimmage -- with too many playmakers, an elite defense and a veteran quarterback -- to fall victim to the ups and downs that plagued them in 2024. But this was a trap game, and the Canes fell right into it. In a 24-21 loss to Louisville, last year's Canes showed up.

Carson Beck threw Miami out of this game, to the tune of four interceptions. (He had only three all season entering the night.)

"The first one, the kid made an unbelievable play," Beck said of Antonio Watts' diving interception early in the second quarter on a deep shot to his favorite target, Malachi Toney. 

"The second one, the ball just didn't come out good. He had a beat," Beck said of the second interception, a play by Jabari Mack where Mack bites on Beck's pump fake but still recovers to sink under an underthrown ball.

The third interception, according to Beck, was just a missed throw. It was actually the second interception he threw on that drive, but a roughing-the-passer penalty wiped away the first. The one that stood ended up in the hands of JoJo Evans -- a crucial turning point in the game, as Louisville had just extended its lead to 11 points.

But it was the fourth and final pick that killed Miami's chance at a game-tying field goal to force overtime. The Hurricanes had all three timeouts and felt confident they could move the ball to gain extra yards for their kicker. Louisville walked multiple extra defenders up to the line of scrimmage but ended up bringing five of seven threats. One of the players who dropped out was T.J. Capers, who came down with the second interception of his career.

"We have a perfect play for it, we just had a miscommunication with the route and what we were doing," Beck said. "So [Elija Lofton] just ran the route wrong, and I went to go throw it, because we're hot off of the pressure, and again, he made a good play on it, but it definitely didn't help that we ran the wrong play."

Miami had played only one game since Sept. 20, and the rust showed early. On its opening drive, Louisville -- coming off its own open date -- marched 75 yards in 11 plays, including a fake field goal near the goal line. The Cardinals scored again on their next drive to put Miami in a 14-0 hole, unfamiliar territory for this team. 

It was the first time all season the Hurricanes had trailed by more than 10 points. They clawed back from the deficit but never led. The closest they came was the three-point final margin, which Louisville gifted them after an Isaiah Brown fumble gave Miami a short field following Beck's third interception.

Louisville shredded Miami in the middle of the field, with Caulin Lacey and Chris Bell routinely turning drag routes into big gains. Quarterback Miller Moss got the ball out quickly, neutralizing the Canes' vaunted pass rush. Miami's lone sack came on a blitz by a defensive back.

"After those 14 points, I thought we settled down, got our cleats in the ground and started playing good defense, and they're a really good offense, really good play caller, but certainly we gotta be able to move the sticks and put some points on the board to help the defense do well," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. "At the end of the game I think we only had 59 plays. A lot of that is due to not sustaining drives. That's not a good play count for our offense."

The troubling thing about this loss is that the core idea behind this Miami team failed. The theory was that Beck, in a new setting with a stable offensive line in front of him, would be able to do just enough with playmakers C.J. Daniels and Malachi Toney in an Air Raid-style passing game tied to a physical run game. But when the run game faltered and the pressure shifted to the passing attack, the pipe burst.

The sloppiness that prevented them from playing for an ACC title or a College Football Playoff berth last year returned in full force -- and with a conference title race expected to feature a logjam of teams at the top, Miami's margin for error is gone.

It makes the rest of their season a whole lot more interesting.