By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The final offensive play Miami ran to earn a spot in the national championship had not been called by Shannon Dawson in a game this season.

Considering Miami’s offensive coordinator called a season-high 88 plays in final four 31-27 win against Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl — and more than 1,000 throughout the season — it’s noteworthy Dawson still had something the Rebels hadn’t seen yet.

It probably helps explain why Ole Miss left the entire left side of the field open for quarterback Carson Beck to tuck the ball and waltz his way into the end zone with 18 seconds left.

“We’ve been repping it probably for the last three games in that situation — for about a 4- or 5-yard-line play,” Dawson said. “We had a little condensed set (three receivers to the left) and were throwing an option route to Malachi (Toney). They covered it well and Carson just made a play, which was awesome. Sometimes we talk about at quarterback, if you exhaust your reads, go make a damn play. That’s what he did.”

Dawson’s play calling and Beck’s decision-making haven’t always produced pleasing results for the Hurricanes. There were probably some who questioned why Dawson called a pass play 3 yards from the end zone with 24 seconds left and a timeout still in Mario Cristobal’s pocket.

Miami had pounded the ball down the Rebels’ throats all night, and an Ole Miss sack or interception would be disastrous. Yet Miami’s coordinator and head coach were on the same page. It was time to put the game in Beck’s hands.

“I was gonna throw it there, and if I didn’t get it, I was gonna run it on third down,” Dawson said. “And then we would see, right?”

Dawson never had to figure out what to call on third down. Instead of forcing the ball to Toney in tight coverage and putting the ball in harm’s way, Beck made the right decision.

He’s done that a lot over the course of Miami’s seven-game win streak. While Beck is not putting up flashy numbers and continues to struggle connecting with receivers downfield (he was 1 of 7 on throws of 15-plus yards in the Fiesta Bowl), the Georgia transfer play is not hurting his team.

That’s as big a reason as any why Miami is advancing.

Beck’s teammates came to him after his midseason struggles and told him to let his mistakes go. They urged him to play free and reassured him they had his back.

When it was his turn to lead Miami down the field for the winning drive in the Fiesta Bowl, Beck said he told his teammates he had their back, regardless of the outcome.

“He’s a perfect example of a guy who just feels supported,” Cristobal said. “He’s hungry, he’s driven, he’s a great human being and all he wants to do is want to see his teammates have success. And that’s what we witnessed tonight.”

What did Beck’s teammates see late in the game from the Fiesta Bowl’s offensive MVP? Determination.

“All he said was, ‘Let’s go score,’” said CJ Daniels, who caught an 8-yard pass from Beck on third-and-6 with 1:25 to go to keep Miami’s final drive alive.

“The first thing he told me when he got here was if you wanna go win the natty, you’ve got to believe. Everybody knows he’s been through a lot. The whole world criticizes him. I just know I wouldn’t want to play with any other quarterback.”

Beck threw his second interception since the SMU loss — a span of 195 passes — on a batted ball on his final pass of the third quarter. He closed by completing eight of his last 13 passes in the fourth quarter for 93 yards and two touchdowns.

Keelan Marion, who led the Hurricanes with seven catches for 114 yards (including a 52-yarder for a touchdown on a busted coverage), said he went to Beck on the final drive and told him to get him the ball because he was confident he could beat whoever was covering him. Beck trusted him. Marion caught three passes on the drive, including the last two for first downs.

“Everybody doubted that guy,” Marion said, “and he’s been proving them wrong game by game.”

Is Beck capable of leading Miami to one more win on the Hurricanes’ home field against Indiana?

He’s 37-5 as a starting quarterback. It would be foolish to doubt him now.