CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — There’s a lot of things that Miami quarterback Carson Beck had to learn when he joined the Hurricanes back in January.
The meaning of rivalry weeks was not among them.
For the first time, Miami is set to face its two biggest rivals — Florida and Florida State — in consecutive games during the same season. (Technically, there have been three instances of Miami seeing those opponents in back-to-back games, all when the Hurricanes ended one season facing the Gators and opened the next season against the Seminoles.)
It starts Saturday, when Beck and the fourth-ranked Hurricanes (3-0) play host to the Gators (1-2). Miami beat Florida last season and Beck was Georgia’s starting quarterback for wins over the Gators — the Bulldogs also count Florida as a big rival — in 2023 and 2024.
“I’m very up to speed,” Beck said. “Obviously, being at Georgia, we value our rivalries. I mean, Georgia-Florida is one of the biggest games of the year for us every year. Being in Miami, you get two in-state rivalries, which is pretty dope. The tensions rise. The competition is always heightened with those rivalry games. And obviously, I’ve been in Florida my whole life, so I’m super familiar with all the rivalries.”
In turn, the Gators are also super familiar with Beck.
He has the chance to be the third quarterback in the last 25 years — fellow former Georgia quarterbacks Jake Fromm and Aaron Murray are the others — to beat Florida three times as a starter. Beck was 44 of 68 passing for 624 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions against Florida in the past two seasons, getting wins by scores of 43-20 and 34-20.
“He’s a good quarterback,” Florida defensive lineman George Gumbs Jr. said. “I feel like going into every game with a good quarterback, our goal is to affect the quarterback. The quarterback is usually going to be the team. So, once we affect the quarterback, we slow the offense down.”
Miami’s three opponents so far this season — Notre Dame, Bethune-Cookman and South Florida — have had similar mindsets going into their games against the Hurricanes. None were successful.
Among quarterbacks with more than 20 pass attempts so far this season, Beck leads the country with a 79.3% completion percentage. He’s 65 of 82 through three games for 812 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions, both of those picks coming against USF last week and neither exactly being his fault. And nobody in the last 30 years has gotten off to such an accurate start in three games with at least two of those contests coming against AP-ranked opponents.
Plus, there’s this: Beck simply knows the Gators. It’s a plus for Miami this week.
“You prepare for everything historically, what teams have done and whatnot,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “But without question, experience at that position and understanding conceptually what we do versus what opponents show us is always a tremendous bonus. And certainly, he takes a lot of pride in studying his opponents. So, any insight from him is welcome and respected.”
Beck is from Jacksonville, not too far from Gainesville, and around his freshman year of high school decided that he would attend Florida to play both football and baseball. Plans changed, obviously, but he clearly has more than just a basic understanding of the rivalry.
And he knows Florida’s defense is better than the Gators’ 1-2 record. Florida’s defense has yielded only two touchdowns this season so far, and has given up just seven in its last seven games going back to last year.
“It’s a really good defense and they’ve shown that this year in the three games that they’ve played,” Beck said. “So again, it’s going to be a challenge for us. But you know, we’re excited to accept that challenge.”
