College Football Playoff: Josh Pate states Miami at Texas A&M is 'not just a Carson Beck game' for Hurricanes

With the two defenses set to take the field tomorrow at Kyle Field, points and plays made on key downs could be crucial for both of Texas A&M and Miami. However, in the case of the Hurricanes, Josh Pate says that means it can’t just come down to only the play of Carson Beck.

Pate made that point while appearing on ‘Get Up’ on Friday morning, while previewing the first two games of the College Football Playoff. He thinks this will have to be an effort by the Hurricanes’ entire offense, namely the run game and the offensive line, rather than just one by Beck.

“It’s a Miami offense game. It’s not just a Carson Beck game. I think, if this falls squarely on the shoulders of Carson Beck, you’ve kind of done him a disservice on the road in this environment. Back to Jordan’s point, he’s talking about whether A&M can stop the run. Well, that’s what you’ve got to find out. At some point, Mario Cristobal comes to Miami, he assembles a stockpile of big bodies along the offensive line, and they just do this, they talk about this,” Pate said while balling a fist and punched his other hand. “Well, this is when you do that thing right there. That’s when you impose your will, and you take away their ability to rush the passer because it’s constantly 3rd & 2, 3rd & 1. So, it’s a Miami collective offensive effort that they need.”

Jordan Rodgers agreed with Pate when it came to the rushing offense for the Hurricanes. Miami having success on the ground in early downs and distance, rather than putting pressure on its quarterback to make plays against one of the best pass rushes, will be a key against A&M.

“Great quarterback matchup with Carson Beck and Marcel Reed, but, to me, this is going to come down to can Texas A&M stop the run? And that’s for the two reasons. First, they couldn’t do that against Texas. They gave up nine rushes of ten or more yards. They’ve given up 3.3 yards after contact, and that’s 130th in the country,” Rodgers pointed out. “If you can’t slow down the run, then you can’t let your third-down defense get after Carson Beck and they’re the best third-down defense in the country. If they can force second and long, third and long, then they can force Carson Beck into some turnovers, and that’s what we’ve seen be their Achilles heel in their two losses so far.”

In his first season at Miami, Beck has gone on to return to form a bit and have one of his better years as a college starter, posting a career-high completion rate of 74.7% for 256 passing yards per game along with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. However, for all of that production, neither analyst thought that this was a game that could solely be on him.

Instead, the Hurricanes may have to lean on their offensive line, which will already have its hands full with the front of that defense for the Aggies. It also places a lot on the pads of Miami’s leading rushers in Mark Fletcher and CharMar Brown, especially on first and second down, on offense for ‘The U.’

Beck could certainly come out and play a big game tomorrow afternoon in Aggieland. But based on their evaluations for and preview of this one, neither Pate nor Rodgers thinks that’s necessarily the best path to victory for Miami in order to advance in the CFP.