While Miami’s football program has had some great triumphs in the past, it’s also had some harsh defeats. And while the stage might have been bigger for some of those defeats, it’s hard to imagine a more inexplicable loss than what happened against Georgia Tech on Saturday.
The Hurricanes held a 20-17 lead late in the fourth quarter. Georgia Tech did not have a time-out and only 35 seconds were left in the game. One kneel-down was all that was needed to end the game. For some reason, coach Mario Cristobal elected to have the Hurricanes run one more actual play.
Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke handed the ball off to Donald Chaney Jr. Naturally, Georgia Tech’s defenders weren’t terribly worried about tackling Chaney and instead were trying to knock the ball out of his hands. One of them eventually did, forcing a fumble. The Yellow Jackets recovered.
One of the worst losses in CFB history.
Part 1: Leading 20-17 with 35 seconds left, Miami had the ball. Georgia Tech did not have a time-out. One kneel down was all Miami needed to win the game.
Instead, the Hurricanes run a play. GT forces and recovers a fumble. pic.twitter.com/DTxSKolyX7
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 8, 2023
Georgia Tech had the ball deep in its own territory so the odds were still long, but nowhere near as long as they should have been.
Haynes King and Malik Rutherford got a big chunk of the yardage needed on one 30-yard completion. Two plays later, King scrambled to his right and found receiver Christian Leary, who had gotten behind the Miami defense. King floated a pass to Leary, who caught the ball and went into the end zone for the improbable go-ahead score.
Part 2: Georgia Tech receiver Christian Leary gets behind the Miami defense. Quarterback Haynes King finds him for a 44-yard touchdown pass pic.twitter.com/QCMPoHEQ5C
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 8, 2023
Georgia Tech tried to run the remaining clock off with a squib kick, but it went out of bounds. That gave the Hurricanes one final chance at the end zone. But while Miami’s lateral play lasted a long time, it ultimately went nowhere.
Make no mistake, the Yellow Jackets deserve a lot of credit for forcing the fumble. Also, even after recovering the fumble, they still needed to go 74 yards to score the winning touchdown with only 26 seconds remaining and without a time-out.
But as great as Georgia Tech was in the final seconds, there was no reason for this. This wasn’t even a situation where Miami needed to kill a few seconds before taking a knee. With 35 seconds remaining, the Hurricanes had a five-second buffer.
So naturally, people were wondering what Miami — and more specifically, Cristobal — was thinking.
Like … why???? https://t.co/9Bf2KYzEJx
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) October 8, 2023
"That's a great, gritty win for Georgia Tech. I mean, about as gritty as you can get it. But it's also a scenario…as much as that is win for Georgia Tech, that is a loss by Miami." pic.twitter.com/BQuPYrZFTN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 8, 2023
Just saw the #Miami highlight!!
Oh my gawd what is Mario Cristobal doing?!? Why did he not just take the knee and get the win? https://t.co/hgHyAg3kHM
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) October 8, 2023
https://twitter.com/SteveSandmeyer/status/1710873246512603161
If I rooted for a team and this happened I would want my coach fired out of a cannon. This is a fireable offense https://t.co/AU0UN4xmV8
— Kalon Fullerton (@cowlonfull) October 8, 2023
What a fireable turn of events. #Canes
— Luke Easterling (@LukeEasterling) October 8, 2023
This is Joe Pisarcik all over again. Incomprehensible a coach at any level could be this incompetent. https://t.co/Yv4kwG7NSf
— Jay Posner (@JayPosnerSD) October 8, 2023
Oh, man… this was worse than I thought. https://t.co/2pP5vw9wug
— Chris Long (@ChrisLongKSTP) October 8, 2023
A similar scenario happened to the Buffalo Bills against the Minnesota Vikings in 2022. The difference was, the Bills were pinned against their own goal line. They couldn’t simply take a knee. Josh Allen’s fumbled snap was bad, but he did have to do more than just fall to the ground.
The obvious comparison is Joe Pisarcik, the New York Giants quarterback whose botched handoff led to a fumble, which Herm Edwards returned for a Philadelphia Eagles touchdown, completing the Miracle at the Meadowlands.
More recently, we saw Oregon in a similar position against Stanford in 2018. Up three and across midfield, the Ducks could have taken two knees. If they took enough time, they might have been able to run the clock out. If not, they would have punted and pinned the Cardinal deep in their own territory with time to run one, maybe two plays. Instead, Oregon ran a play and fumbled.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) October 8, 2023
Stanford kicked the game-tying field goal, then won in overtime. Oregon’s coach in that game? Mario Cristobal.
I completely forgot Mario Cristobal had almost the EXACT same thing happen to him in the 2018 Oregon-Stanford game, ran the ball instead of kneeling and fumbled. pic.twitter.com/uOX0KzRn5Z
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 8, 2023
Football coaches, like all humans, have their blind spots. Being able to successfully navigate taking a couple of knees, though, should not be something that gives coaches trouble.
