College Football Playoff National Championship: Miami v Indiana
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Miami gave itself a chance to win on its final possession in the College Football Playoff National Championship but fell short when Carson Beck threw a game-sealing interception. The Hurricanes' 27-21 loss to Indiana came in heartbreaking fashion and brought a disappointing conclusion to Beck's accomplished college football career.

Needing a touchdown to take the lead in the final minutes of Monday's title game, Beck launched a deep ball into double coverage for Keelan Marion. A completion would have likely led Marion into the end zone for a go-ahead, 41-yard score. Instead, Indiana's Jamari Sharpe high-pointed the ball, came down with a crucial interception and took a knee to effectively end the game.

"The guy made a really good play," Beck said after the loss. "They were in Cover 2 and he sunk with no flat threat and made a really good play on the ball. A lot of credit to them and their defense. They played really, really well tonight. Obviously in the moment, you react and that's what happened. He made a really good play on it. You can sit back and think of every if, and or but situation after, but that's what happened. It sucks. It's going to sting for a while."

It was a fitting, albeit devastating, way for Beck's tenure with the Hurricanes to reach its endpoint. Each of Miami's three losses on the year came with Beck throwing an interception on the final offensive snap. He previously tossed a pick to conclude a 24-21 loss to Louisville, and his turnover on the first possession of overtime against SMU set the stage for the Mustangs to score a walk-off touchdown.

Dating back to his Georgia days, four of Beck's six losses as a starter included a game-sealing interception. The Bulldogs had a shot to defeat Alabama in the 2024 SEC opener, or at least send the game to overtime, but Beck threw a pick on the last drive to cap a 41-34 defeat.

"For it to end like that is hard," Beck said. "It's really tough. Especially to battle the way we did in the second half after not coming out too strong in the first half. For a group that has faced so much adversity throughout this season, to face adversity early on again and battle our way back to even have that opportunity to have a chance to win the game at the end says a lot about this team and about us. Just super proud of these guys and super thankful for them. It really hurts, and it's hard, the way that it ended."

Carson Beck's college career ends in heartbreak

Beck's 19-for-32 passing performance is the final stanza in a college career that featured numerous peaks and valleys. He was a touchdown away from going out on top after many had written him off. That the former blue-chip recruit even had a shot at the national title this year was a slap in the face to his doubters, most of whom counted him out after he underwent elbow surgery just over a year ago. His trip to the national championship game was a return to the forefront of college football -- a position where he once stood as a rising star.

Beck debuted as a starter at Georgia in 2023 and immediately led the SEC in passing with a 3,941-yard junior campaign. The offense regressed in 2024, though, and Beck not only lost eight points from his completion percentage but also paced the conference in the wrong statistic: interceptions.

Despite undergoing a major surgery on his throwing arm last offseason, Beck rekindled the magic of his 2023 season to become the most accurate passer in the ACC and one of two quarterbacks to play for the national championship. While the outlook for his professional future is murky, and although he fell short of a title, Beck rewrote some of the negative narratives that plagued his college career.