It was a familiar and unfortunate sight for Miami Hurricanes fans on Monday night.

A ball that left Carson Beck’s hand ended up in the hands of a defender to end the game for the Hurricanes. This time, it was Indiana’s Jamari Sharpe who picked off Beck around the Indiana 10-yard line to snatch away the game in the final seconds and deny Miami their sixth national championship.

It was Déjà vu for Hurricane fans, as it was the common thread for all three of Miami’s losses in 2025.

All 3 of Miami’s losses came on a final Carson Beck interception

Beck’s fourth interception in the Hurricanes’ 24-21 loss to Louisville came with Miami in field goal range to tie the game up in the final seconds.

Two weeks later in Dallas, Miami found itself in overtime against SMU. On third-and-6 at the SMU 7-yard line, Beck’s pass was intercepted near the goal line. SMU would go on to punch in the game-ending touchdown.

And on Monday, with under a minute to go and the national championship hanging in the balance, Beck took a shot deep to Keelan Marion. Unfortunately, Sharpe had tight coverage and pulled down the ball to seal another heartbreaking loss for Miami fans.

Darian Mensah could help Hurricanes get over the hump in 2026

Beck undoubtedly had his moments this year. The final drive and his run to win the Fiesta Bowl was a microcosm of the grit and determination he played with. For much of the year, he did what he needed to in order to help the team win.

But there were some head shaking moments that ended in losses, and one has to wonder exactly how things would have gone if they’d avoided those mistakes and if Miami had gotten a little bit more out of their passing game.

The Hurricanes have been linked to Duke QB Darian Mensah, who entered the transfer portal last week. Mensah had a big season for the Blue Devils in 2025, throwing for 3974 yards with 34 touchdowns and six interceptions. With Miami’s season concluded, attention will now turn to trying to land the talented signal caller, which would have a major impact on their 2026 outlook.

There’s little doubt that Mensah could help elevate the Canes’ passing attack in 2026 and perhaps take the program that one completion further to finally get back to the mountaintop of college football.

College Football

Despite the loss, Miami Hurricanes pulled off a huge accomplishment that they’ve been trying to do for two decades

Despite the outcome, Miami proved to the recruits in South Florida that there’s no need to leave home to play for a championship-level program.

Craig Smith