Courtesy to ASAP Sports:
Q. Can you describe the emotion?
CARSON BECK: Obviously an amazing feeling to be able to come into this environment and play against a really, really talented team with really, really good coaches. They had really good scheme, really good players. To be able to come in here and come out with a win, not only a win on the road but a playoff win on the road, it means everything to us and this team, and especially me.
Q. Carson, just the way the offense was going for that final drive, for Mark to get those big runs, for Malachi to get a little bit of redemption after fumbling the ball the drive before, talk about how that unfolded and the emotions of when you finally did get into the end zone?
CARSON BECK: Yeah, it was that type of game today. It was grind it out, playing against a really physical defense. We’re a really physical offense. When you’re playing smashmouth football, at the end of the day, at some point one side is either going to continue to push and push and push and then it just breaks open, and that’s what we were able to do on that last drive, and then obviously Malachi was able to make the play to get it in the end zone, and then defense does their job and gets the stop and closes it out.
I thought we played really good complementary football today and just stayed the course and just played super physical.
Q. Shannon was throwing everything at them today. I don’t know if there’s any offensive plays that weren’t run today. How was that for you guys leading up to the game and grasping that game plan, and also the difficulty of finding ways to pass the ball down the field in those conditions today?
CARSON BECK: They honestly stayed in a two-high shell for most of the game. There was a lot of quarters, and again, you have D-linemen like that, you have linebackers like that, a front seven that are really talented and can create different holes and gaps and things of that sort with their scheme, it can be difficult to throw the ball down the field.
I think we had like one or two one-on-one shots that I missed that I could have given them better balls. But at the end of the day, if they wanted to play like that, then shoot, we’re going to hand the ball off. Mark Fletcher has an unbelievable game. We have an unbelievable offensive line. Shoot, we’re behind them — I’ve said that this whole entire season; they lead the way, and today they did.
Q. Carson, about Mark, getting to know him over the course of the last year, to see him have this huge game on such a big stage, what do you think it means for him, for the team? I think Shannon was saying he’s one of the main guys on offense, one of the main leaders on offense?
CARSON BECK: Yeah, absolutely. From the jump since I’ve been at Miami, since January, he’s one of the first guys that really came up to me, introduced himself. Not only that, but one of the first guys that I really clicked with and really meshed with. He’s one of my best friends on the team. We constantly have conversations almost every single day all the way from January, February, about our goals, about what we want to do with this season and this team.
To be able to see him have that much success today, it’s very expected, obviously, seeing the way that he works each and every day, day in and day out, to be able to go out there and execute the way that he did, it’s expected, and again, I’m super happy for him to watch him be able to do that.
Q. Carson, you’ve been in a National Championship locker room. You know what it looks like, what it feels like. Talk to us about this locker room now. How does it feel to you right now? How does it look to you?
CARSON BECK: The energy is super, super high. Obviously for our team to battle and face adversity the way that we did during that middle part of the season where we slipped up and had a couple games that didn’t go our way, the way that we responded from that just tells the whole entire story of who this team is and what this team wants.
We responded those last four games in honestly astounding fashion and proved that we should be in the playoffs, that we should have this opportunity.
Now that we have had this opportunity, we come in on the road in one of the toughest places to play, some would argue the toughest place to play in a road playoff, and come out with a victory.
Again, this locker room is everything. It’s a real brotherhood. It’s real family. There’s real connection. You can see that in the way that everybody treats each other and the way that people are excited for other people when they make plays.
Again, I’m super proud of this team, super proud of the way that we’ve worked and battled adversity and handled adversity and excited for the opportunities that are to come.
Q. For both of you guys, I’m wondering, what was last weekend like, or two weeks ago when you’re waiting to see whether you’re in or out? What was that like? Then to get this win today after not knowing whether you guys were going to make it in or not, what type of feelings come with that?
CARSON BECK: I mean, me personally, just with the way that we ended the season and the resume that we had put together, I thought that we deserved to be in the playoffs and that we could compete with anybody. I said that after we beat Pitt, that I thought that we could compete with anybody, and we had proved that and showed that.
To be given that opportunity, obviously I was super anxious leading up to the selection show and watching the selection show I was still super anxious as it got down to eight, nine, and then obviously put us in at 10.
But to have this opportunity was everything for this team. We knew that we were prepared for the moment. We knew that everything that we had been through had led up to this moment and this opportunity. To be able to come in here today and do what we did and come out with a win is everything to me and to these guys, to these coaches, to this whole entire university, and again, to have another opportunity to play and another chance to play as a team is very exciting.
Q. Can you describe the emotion?
CARSON BECK: Obviously an amazing feeling to be able to come into this environment and play against a really, really talented team with really, really good coaches. They had really good scheme, really good players. To be able to come in here and come out with a win, not only a win on the road but a playoff win on the road, it means everything to us and this team, and especially me.
Q. Carson, just the way the offense was going for that final drive, for Mark to get those big runs, for Malachi to get a little bit of redemption after fumbling the ball the drive before, talk about how that unfolded and the emotions of when you finally did get into the end zone?
CARSON BECK: Yeah, it was that type of game today. It was grind it out, playing against a really physical defense. We’re a really physical offense. When you’re playing smashmouth football, at the end of the day, at some point one side is either going to continue to push and push and push and then it just breaks open, and that’s what we were able to do on that last drive, and then obviously Malachi was able to make the play to get it in the end zone, and then defense does their job and gets the stop and closes it out.
I thought we played really good complementary football today and just stayed the course and just played super physical.
Q. Shannon was throwing everything at them today. I don’t know if there’s any offensive plays that weren’t run today. How was that for you guys leading up to the game and grasping that game plan, and also the difficulty of finding ways to pass the ball down the field in those conditions today?
CARSON BECK: They honestly stayed in a two-high shell for most of the game. There was a lot of quarters, and again, you have D-linemen like that, you have linebackers like that, a front seven that are really talented and can create different holes and gaps and things of that sort with their scheme, it can be difficult to throw the ball down the field.
I think we had like one or two one-on-one shots that I missed that I could have given them better balls. But at the end of the day, if they wanted to play like that, then shoot, we’re going to hand the ball off. Mark Fletcher has an unbelievable game. We have an unbelievable offensive line. Shoot, we’re behind them — I’ve said that this whole entire season; they lead the way, and today they did.
Q. Carson, about Mark, getting to know him over the course of the last year, to see him have this huge game on such a big stage, what do you think it means for him, for the team? I think Shannon was saying he’s one of the main guys on offense, one of the main leaders on offense?
CARSON BECK: Yeah, absolutely. From the jump since I’ve been at Miami, since January, he’s one of the first guys that really came up to me, introduced himself. Not only that, but one of the first guys that I really clicked with and really meshed with. He’s one of my best friends on the team. We constantly have conversations almost every single day all the way from January, February, about our goals, about what we want to do with this season and this team.
To be able to see him have that much success today, it’s very expected, obviously, seeing the way that he works each and every day, day in and day out, to be able to go out there and execute the way that he did, it’s expected, and again, I’m super happy for him to watch him be able to do that.
Q. Carson, you’ve been in a National Championship locker room. You know what it looks like, what it feels like. Talk to us about this locker room now. How does it feel to you right now? How does it look to you?
CARSON BECK: The energy is super, super high. Obviously for our team to battle and face adversity the way that we did during that middle part of the season where we slipped up and had a couple games that didn’t go our way, the way that we responded from that just tells the whole entire story of who this team is and what this team wants.
We responded those last four games in honestly astounding fashion and proved that we should be in the playoffs, that we should have this opportunity.
Now that we have had this opportunity, we come in on the road in one of the toughest places to play, some would argue the toughest place to play in a road playoff, and come out with a victory.
Again, this locker room is everything. It’s a real brotherhood. It’s real family. There’s real connection. You can see that in the way that everybody treats each other and the way that people are excited for other people when they make plays.
Again, I’m super proud of this team, super proud of the way that we’ve worked and battled adversity and handled adversity and excited for the opportunities that are to come.
Q. For both of you guys, I’m wondering, what was last weekend like, or two weeks ago when you’re waiting to see whether you’re in or out? What was that like? Then to get this win today after not knowing whether you guys were going to make it in or not, what type of feelings come with that?
CARSON BECK: I mean, me personally, just with the way that we ended the season and the resume that we had put together, I thought that we deserved to be in the playoffs and that we could compete with anybody. I said that after we beat Pitt, that I thought that we could compete with anybody, and we had proved that and showed that.
To be given that opportunity, obviously I was super anxious leading up to the selection show and watching the selection show I was still super anxious as it got down to eight, nine, and then obviously put us in at 10.
But to have this opportunity was everything for this team. We knew that we were prepared for the moment. We knew that everything that we had been through had led up to this moment and this opportunity. To be able to come in here today and do what we did and come out with a win is everything to me and to these guys, to these coaches, to this whole entire university, and again, to have another opportunity to play and another chance to play as a team is very exciting.
