Carson Beck looks to Keep Miami Together After SMU Stumble

The lights are not off yet for the Miami Hurricanes. They are flickering, but there is still a chance that they could be in playoff contention with the College Football Playoff rankings coming out on Tuesday.

However, the real question is, has the team checked out, or are they still playing to finish out the season strong?

Checking the body language on the sideline during and after SMU, it is clear that something is not right offensively for the Hurricanes.

The constant frustration is starting to boil over with quarterback Carson Beck, while offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson is getting angry at players not running up the middle.

Beck knows that even with these struggles, the team has to stay together. They have a chance to win out and still make the dance, despite slim odds of it happening.

"Just stay together," Beck said. "We can't separate. We have to do what we've said that we are the entire year. That's having a connection. That's playing as a team. Staying in unity, regardless of what happens. That's all we can do. We learn from the mistakes of what happened in this game, just continue forward, and finish each week as hard as we can."

Head coach Mario Cristobal knows that as well. The goal now is to focus on Syracuse, and trust that this midseason stubble was only a stumble and not a collapse.

"We have to do the things to go from good to great. It starts with us," Cristobal said during an appearance Monday morning on The Joe Rose Show on WQAM. "Everything about this is about us. There is an attitude of wanting to get better and wanting to do the right things. We have a tremendous opportunity in these next four games with the unpredictability of college football; you can put yourself in position to accomplish your goals, and it starts with Syracuse this Saturday.

The Hurricanes are relying on the craziness of college football to prepare themselves for the conversations of the 12 deserving teams to make it to the College Football Playoff. They have to win out, and the Hurricanes have the talent to do so.