College football Top 25: How far can Carson Beck take No. 10 Miami?

Yahoo

2 days ago

College football officially begins this month.
Now that it's August, there are less than three weeks until Kansas State and Iowa State meet in Dublin to begin the 2025 regular season. And since the season is quickly approaching, we need to reveal our preseason top 10.
We're rolling out our top 10 teams ahead of 2025 over the first half of August. You can find out which teams are ranked Nos. 11 through 25 right here. (Odds from BetMGM.)
No. 10 Miami
2024 record: 10-3
2025 national championship odds: 30-1
Odds to make College Football Playoff: +200
2024 in 100 words
Cam Ward's Heisman season could only do so much for the Hurricanes. Miami led the country with 44 points per game. But a final week loss to Syracuse doomed any hope Miami had of making the playoff. The Hurricanes' first loss of the season came at Georgia Tech on Nov. 9. Three weeks later, Syracuse put up 42 in a 42-38 upset win that dropped Miami to 10-2, out of the ACC title game and ultimately out of the College Football Playoff.
The quarterback
Carson Beck
The former Georgia QB comes to Miami to hopefully finish his college career with a flourish and also improve his NFL Draft stock.
Beck was fantastic in his first season as Georgia's starter in 2023. He was 302-of-417 passing for 3,941 yards and threw 24 TDs to just six interceptions. That made him a Heisman favorite ahead of the 2024 season, but last season didn't go according to plan. Beck struggled, especially in Georgia's biggest games. He threw three interceptions against Alabama before almost delivering a second-half comeback. He also threw three interceptions against Texas — a 30-15 Georgia win — and followed that up with three picks in a 34-20 win over Florida.
His season ended prematurely in the SEC title game against Texas with an elbow injury on a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half. Beck was replaced by Gunner Stockton for the rest of the game and the College Football Playoff and transferred to Miami in a big-money NIL deal after the season.
'I think the biggest thing for me, obviously, was the offensive fit,' Beck said about his decision to transfer to Miami. 'As a quarterback, the OC, the scheme, the talent and guys that you're going to have around you is huge to the success and ultimately the future [of a quarterback like me]."
Non-QB to watch
WR CJ Daniels
The former Liberty and LSU wide receiver is entering his sixth year of college football in 2025. Daniels played four years at Liberty and had 55 catches for 1,067 yards and 10 TDs before transferring to LSU. In one season with the Tigers, Daniels had 42 grabs for 480 yards as part of a deep receiving group.
At Miami, Daniels will have plenty of opportunities to catch passes from Beck. The Hurricanes lost every player who caught more than 10 passes in 2024. Daniels could emerge as Beck's top target with Miami's passing game looking completely different in 2025.
Best position group
Offensive line
The Hurricanes bring back three of five starters on the offensive line, including potential first-round pick Francis Mauigoa. They will be joined by former TCU center James Brockermeyer — he was a stalwart for the Horned Frogs.
Having a strong offensive line should help ease Beck's transition into the offense. And the line will also be blocking for a quarterback who isn't as mobile as Ward, who won the Heisman in 2024 thanks to his ability to extend plays.
'If I've got to block this guy 10 seconds for him to make a play, I'll do that, just like the same as last year,' Mauigoa said at ACC media day. 'I'll do whatever it takes for us to succeed. That's the mentality not for me, but the whole O-lineman group.'
Biggest game
Nov. 1 at SMU
You can make a compelling case for the season opener against Notre Dame, but we'll go with a game that should be massive in the ACC title race. Miami can deal with a loss to Notre Dame and still make the playoff. But it will be a big surprise if the result of the game at SMU doesn't have ramifications on the conference title picture.
Why Miami is at No. 10
The Miami defense can't be as bad as it was in 2024, right? Even though there's turnover at quarterback, running back and receiver, Miami should still have a very good offense assuming Beck is fully healthy.
The defense, meanwhile, has to be better. Miami gave up at least 34 points six different times in 2024 and its defense stats were buoyed by early non-conference performances.
Coach Mario Cristobal made sure to address the defense in the transfer portal, adding cornerbacks Ethan O'Connor (Washington State), Charles Brantley (Michigan State) and Xavier Lucas (Wisconsin), along with Rutgers linebacker Mohamed Toure. He had 93 tackles and 10 tackles for loss for the Scarlet Knights in 2024.
Those new players will team with Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor. They combined for nine sacks and 15 tackles for loss on the defensive line last year.
That expected defensive improvement is why we think Miami gets into the playoff this year and doesn't fall apart late in the season like it has in recent years. Games against Notre Dame, Florida, Louisville and SMU should give Miami enough schedule strength to not sweat the playoff bubble with another 10-2 season.