Carson Beck recently led his Miami Hurricanes team to the national championship game with a memorable touchdown. But as the Hurricanes celebrated their biggest win of the season, fans across social media latched onto an unexpected crossover: one where WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark is responsible for this win.

Think women’s basketball, NIL era transfers, and one unforgettable NCAA Tournament performance. The result? A viral fan claim that Clark’s dominance in Iowa helped set off a chain reaction that somehow landed Beck in Coral Gables. Sounds far-fetched? Let me explain.

The theory isn’t that Clark had any direct role in Miami football. Instead, it hinges on how one of the most dominant performances in NCAA women’s basketball history reshaped multiple careers. Back in 2024, when the Iowa Hawkeyes faced the LSU Tigers, Clark outplayed Hailey Van Lith on one of the biggest stages, going on to score 41 points, hand out 12 assists, and secure 7 rebounds.

Bear in mind that this is the first domino in the Clark voodoo chain reaction. Not long after that devastating loss, in which she managed to score only nine points, Van Lith returned to the transfer portal and eventually landed at TCU, which set off another round of changes that unexpectedly tied back to Miami.

Haley Cavinder would play alongside Van Lith after she announced her commitment to the Horned Frogs for the 2024-25 season, but she returned to Miami instead, where her sister Hanna was, reuniting the twins for their final college season. Hanna had briefly considered stepping away from basketball altogether.

At the time, Hanna was dating Carson Beck.

Beck had declared for the NFL Draft out of Georgia, but he ultimately changed his plans. With a major NIL package on the table, worth at least $3 million, and his (then) partner already in Miami, he chose to transfer to the Hurricanes as well. That decision paid off when Beck delivered the game-winning moment that sent them to the national championship game on Thursday.

The logic may be chaotic, but fans don’t seem interested in debating it. The overlaps line up, the timing works, and in their minds, the chain is complete…

Fans lose it over the Caitlin Clark butterfly effect

As soon as this fan claim went viral, several others took to the comment section to support the theory.

“That’s a crazy chain reaction,” a fan wrote, summing up the mood bluntly, while another one wrote, “That’s the CC effect again. I’m waiting for the WNBA season to start. I never thought I would say that.”

For the past two years, fans have watched Caitlin Clark’s influence stretch far beyond the box score, to a point where almost any major sports moment feels connected back to her. The so-called “Caitlin Clark Effect” is built on record-breaking viewership, sold-out arenas, an exponential increase in sales, and an audience shift that followed her from Iowa straight into the WNBA, turning her games into cultural events rather than just matchups on a schedule.

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Clark’s rise helped drive historic TV numbers, fueled massive economic impact around her programs, and accelerated league-wide changes that reshaped women’s basketball altogether. Even now, the attention she brought hasn’t faded. WNBA viewership continues to climb well beyond the Indiana Fever games.

So when fans jokingly trace Miami’s college football success back to Clark, it fits a familiar pattern.

“This is 100% correct!” a fan affirmed, whereas another one claimed, “(Van Lith) never should’ve left Louisville. Unfortunately getting flamed by Caitlin Clark in March seems to have drove her that way.”

After three seasons at Louisville, Van Lith entered the transfer portal on April 8, 2023, looking to expand her game beyond being labeled as a shooter. She ultimately committed to LSU later that month, joining Angel Reese and the reigning national champions in hopes of elevating her draft stock. The decision set up the high-profile tournament matchup with Clark later that season, the moment fans now point to as the turning point in this chain reaction.

Hearing this connection, one fan summed it up pretty well, writing, “Holy s—.”

And just like that, the Hurricanes’ championship run has been forever linked to Caitlin Clark’s voodoo, at least in the eyes of the internet.