GLENDALE, Ariz. — Just off the University of Miami’s campus, there’s a bar somewhat hidden from the bustle of this city.
The Sunset Tavern is where locals go, tucked behind a pizza joint at the intersection of Highway 1 and 58th Street, and then you must walk down a dark alley to this dive bar, strung with Christmas lights and featuring, usually, a live band. During Carson Beck’s first week in Miami last January, after his stunning transfer from Georgia, the quarterback and the school’s executive director and ace recruiter, Dennis Smith, sneaked away for a chat about life.
“Carson Beck was as broken of a human being I’ve seen,” Smith recalls on Thursday night from this Phoenix suburb in the wake of Miami’s 31-27 semifinal playoff win over Ole Miss. “He didn’t want to go back to college. Had no choice. People ran him out. Confidence problems. Very angry at the world.”
Smith pauses to catch his breath. He composes himself and gestures toward a confetti-strewn celebration with Beck, of all people, at its center — the MVP of the Fiesta Bowl, the hero helping resurrect The U, the guy so many love to hate.
“Here he is,” an emotional Smith says, “a product of a kid who kept running the marathon.”
Carson Beck ran right into the end zone here on Thursday, right into history, into lore and legend status. In the stat sheet, it will only show a 3-yard run on second-and-goal with 18 seconds left.
But it meant so much more, right? On his scrambling, game-winning touchdown, Beck toted across the goal line anger and frustration building now for more than a year, releasing it all in a rocking celebration as Hurricanes fans erupted in a fitting display of a glorious return.
This is their resurrection moment.
The U is back.
After more than two decades in squalor, perhaps the industry’s most colorful and richest brand, the goliath of South Florida, the so-called Convicts themselves, with their gold chains and Starter jackets, their throwback pants and snazzy fedoras, The U is back.
“I knew the Hurricanes would eventually get there. If I said we’d be here in January 2026, I’d be lying, but things come together,” says Dan Radakovich, the Miami athletic director who took over four years ago simultaneously with the arrival of the school’s prodigal son, coach Mario Cristobal.
“We did it in 1983, ‘87 and ‘91, winning national championships at home,” he continued. “Let’s see if we can do it again.”
Hard Rock Stadium, here come your Canes.
“We haven’t been home for a long time,” said Cristobal, a Cuban-blooded former Miami player and native of the city. “We’ve been on the road five straight games.”
Cristobal burst out of the postgame locker room, embraced players as they left the field and then smiled at nearby reporters, quipping aloud, “My head is f***** spinning! I’m ready to go watch the tape. We should have scored 10 more points!”
What a story this is.
The 10th-seed team in the 12-team playoff — the last at-large selection into the field — is playing for it all. It’s four years in the making.
A head coach in December of 2021 who returned to his home to be with his ailing mother only to watch her pass in front of his eyes. A quarterback who last January left one powerhouse in Athens, Georgia — a place of pain for him — to find new hope on South Beach.
An electrifying freshman, perhaps the best rookie in college football, receiver Malachi Toney and his celebrated nickname: Baby Jesus.
God, was he good.
And don’t forget arguably the best defensive front combination in the sport this year, Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor, athletic freaks who did enough to slow the Rebels (13-2) and end their storybook tale.
But on this night, in this game, within State Farm Stadium, one person stole the show.
” yelled a Miami staff member as Beck, teary-eyed and almost numb with excitement, stared longingly into the stands here.
#miami fl vs ole miss, #national championship 2026, #ole miss football, #miami football, #miami hurricanes, #carson beck, #the fiesta bowl, #fiesta bowl, #fiesta bowl 2026, #miami,
