It was back in late September, Miami had just beaten Florida, and someone told Hurricanes star Carson Beck that he was just the third quarterback in 30 years to go 3-0 as a starter against the Gators.
Beck smiled politely. He didn’t care.
“I’m here for something more important,” Beck said.
Nothing more really needed to be said. What Beck — a member of two national championship teams at Georgia — meant was clear. He chose Miami as the transfer destination for his final season of college football because he wanted to compete for another national title.
And, by the slimmest of margins, he and the Hurricanes have that opportunity. Miami, the No. 10 seed in the College Football Playoff, will travel to face seventh-seeded Texas A&M (11-1) in a first-round game on Saturday. The Hurricanes (10-2) were the final at-large team selected for the CFP field; No. 11 Tulane and No. 12 James Madison are ranked below Miami but got in as conference champions.