In an unlikely twist, Miami players seemed to celebrate their win over Notre Dame on Sunday night with a move popularized by a bitter rival. They “ate a W” in the same manner former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston did.
Winston famously created the gesture by weaving his middle finger and ring finger together, while separating out his pointer finger and pinkie finger, creating a ‘W’ of sorts. He then… ate it.
The former Florida State star and Heisman Trophy winner did it in a pregame speech to fire up his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates before a game against the Saints. You can watch it here.
As for Miami, the right to eat a ‘W’ was well-earned after surviving a nervy contest against Notre Dame. You can see the celebration below.
Miami jumped out to a 14-point second half lead but watched Notre Dame whittle it away. The Hurricanes might have gotten a touch conservative, and it nearly came back to bite them.
Instead, kicker Carter Davis drilled a 47-yard field goal with 1:04 remaining in the game to give the Hurricanes a 27-24 lead. They’d hold on defensively to win the game.
It was a huge season-opening win for the program, which has designs to reach the College Football Playoff. It was also a strong debut for new starting quarterback Carson Beck, who transferred in from Georgia this offseason.
Beck finished 20-of-30 passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t throw an interception.
After the game, Beck was overcome by emotions. He’s clearly happy to be at Miami.
“Oh man, sh*t,” Beck said as tears began to well up in his eyes. “The past eight months has been so hard. I’m just so blessed to be out here to have an opportunity to play again. I love these guys. I’m so proud of the way we played. We played so hard. In the face of adversity, we got it done when we needed to. I’m just so blessed and so thankful to have this opportunity to play the game I love.”