MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Carson Beck's long and illustrious college career came to a devastating end Monday night, his final pass intercepted in the final minute to seal the Indiana Hoosiers' 27-21 victory in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

With 51 seconds remaining and Miami driving for a potential game-winning touchdown, Beck launched a deep ball down the left sideline for receiver Keelan Marion. The throw, into double coverage, was short and easily picked off by Indiana cornerback Jamari Sharpe at the 15-yard line, extinguishing the Hurricanes' last hope.

“The guy made a really good play,” a subdued Beck said afterward. “They were in cover 2 and he sunk with no flat threat, made a really good play on the ball. A lot of credit to them.”

The interception followed a dramatic drive that saw Beck take a roughing-the-passer hit—"My ears are ringing," he told reporters—to help move Miami into Indiana territory. It was his only turnover of the night, finishing 19-of-32 for 232 yards and a touchdown.

For Marion, the result was agonizing. Visibly emotional in the locker room, he shouldered the blame. “I didn't even know he had threw the ball,” Marion said. “I got to look for the ball and make that play for him. So that's all on me.”

The loss concludes a winding journey for Beck, who won two national championships as a backup at Georgia before transferring to Miami for his final season. He led the Hurricanes on an improbable playoff run that validated their controversial selection, but fell one drive short of the ultimate prize.

Indiana's defense, which stifled Miami for most of the night, made the championship-clinching play when it mattered most, leaving Beck and the Hurricanes to ponder a title that slipped away in the South Florida night.