Carson Beck and Fellow Transfers Propel Miami to Triumph Over Notre Dame

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: AUG 31 Notre Dame at Miami

After three seasons as a kicker at Florida Atlantic University, Carter Davis transferred last December to Miami. It was a major step up in terms of program prestige and a chance for Davis to play for a school located about 40 miles from his hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Still, back then Davis didn’t expect to be in the position he was in on Sunday night in Miami’s season opener against Notre Dame.

With the score tied and just over a minute remaining, Davis walked on the field to attempt a 47-yard field goal. Davis had been a kickoff specialist at FAU and only made 4 of 11 field goals during his career entering this season. But on Sunday, no one could have guessed that Davis had struggled in college. His kick sailed through the uprights with several yards to spare, giving Miami a 27-24 lead. The No. 10 Hurricanes’ defense, a sore spot last season, then stopped the No. 6 Fighting Irish on the final possession to secure a major victory.

In fact, it was Miami’s first win over a top 10 team since November 2017 when the No. 7 Hurricanes defeated the No. 3 Irish, 41-8, in front of a raucous Hard Rock Stadium crowd. The atmosphere wasn’t as electric on Sunday night, but the hometown fans did come out in droves and watched a revamped program with numerous new players who are looking to build upon last season’s team that started 9-0 before losing three of its last four games.

Quarterback Carson Beck, the highest-profile transfer, shined in his Miami debut and showed he was worth the multi-million dollar deal he signed with the program during the offseason. Beck, who started the past two seasons at Georgia, went 20 for 30 for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Early in the second quarter, he threw a 28-yard touchdown pass on third and 10 to receiver Malachi Toney, a true freshman. And with 12 seconds remaining in the first half, Beck completed a 20-yard touchdown pass to CJ Daniels, an LSU transfer who made a spectacular one-handed catch in the end zone.

Running back Marty Brown, who played his first two seasons at North Dakota State before transferring to Miami in the offseason, scored UM’s other touchdown. He ran in from five yards out midway through the third quarter, culminating a 12-play, 75-yard drive that lasted seven minutes and 37 seconds and giving the Hurricanes a 21-7 lead.

Notre Dame, though, wasn’t about to fold, thanks in large part to redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr, who made his first career start on Sunday. Carr hadn’t even attempted a pass or carried the ball before Sunday, and the Irish coaches were conservative in their game plan for most of the game, calling mostly short passes.

Still, Carr had some big moments, including throwing a one-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Faison on the first play of the fourth quarter, cutting Notre Dame’s deficit to 21-14. And with 3:21 left, Carr ran up the middle for a seven-yard touchdown to even the score at 24-24. It was reminiscent of former Notre Dame starter Riley Leonard, who ran for 17 touchdowns last season, a program record for quarterbacks. Carr, who was just recently named the starter after a close training camp battle with Kenny Minchey, completed 19 of 30 passes for 221 yards, threw two touchdowns and had one interception on an errant throw early in the fourth quarter. Miami followed that up with a 38-yard field goal from Davis for a 24-14 lead.

Davis was the unlikely hero for the Hurricanes. At FAU last season, he had gone 2 of 7 on field goals, including missing two field goals (both from 49 yards out) in the Owls’ 63-16 season ending victory over Tulsa. Less than a month later, Davis committed to Miami, which saw him as someone who could handle kickoffs. But during the summer practices heading into this season, Davis won the starting field goal kicking job over Bert Auburn, who had made 66 of 86 kicks in four seasons at Texas, including 16 of 25 last season, but was benched for the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff semifinal loss after missing two of three field goals in the previous game.

The Hurricanes lost starting quarterback Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL draft, but they reloaded with the addition of Beck, who was considered a Heisman Trophy frontrunner entering last season but struggled at times and sustained a season-ending injury in the Southeastern Conference title game. They upgraded their defense, too, with the hiring of former Minnesota defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman and signing of several defensive transfers. In all, Miami added 19 transfers and were third in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings behind LSU and Texas Tech.

If the Hurricanes continue to play like they did on Sunday, they should have a shot at winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title and securing a CFP berth. After making it to the CFP title game last season, where it lost to Ohio State, Notre Dame managed just 93 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.3 yards per attempt) as Miami’s defensive line more than held its own against a Notre Dame offensive line that returned multiple starters. The Hurricanes’ offensive line also protected Beck, who was only sacked once and hurried once and had plenty of time to throw most of the night.

Miami didn’t have any turnovers, either, while securing an interception and recovering a fumble against Notre Dame. Add it all up, and it wasn’t surprising the Hurricanes won their seventh consecutive home game against Notre Dame, a streak that began in 1977. Miami’s next two games should be easy ones against Bethune-Cookman and South Florida, but then the Hurricanes play back-to-back against in-state rivals Florida and Florida State. Both should be challenging matchups, although thanks to numerous additions in the transfer portal, Miami seems like a program that could be nationally relevant all season.