Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes are under major scrutiny after one of the most embarrassing college football losses of recent memory on Saturday.
With just 37 seconds left and Georgia Tech out of timeouts, all the Hurricanes had to do was kneel. Instead, they ran the ball, and the ensuing fumble set up the game-winning Yellow Jackets drive.
The nonsensical decision has remained the subject of national ridicule. USA Today’s Dan Wolken reserved a spot atop the Week 6 Misery Index for a decision he said “99.99 percent of functioning humans would not be able to understand.” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum called the choice one of the most inexcusable decisions in the history of the sport.
Scooby Axson, Wolken’s USA Today colleague, called it the “worst loss of the year.” In a weekly piece awarding grades to different programs, Axson gave the Hurricanes an “expulsion,” mocking not only the decision-making by Cristobal but the lack of defensive discipline that surrendered 74 yards in the final 26 seconds.
Cristobal admitted after the game that he should have called for his team to kneel out the clock, but his explanation for why he didn’t seemed nonsensical at best.
“We should have taken a timeout right there at the end,” he said. “Thought we’d get the first down, and we talked about two hands on the ball. But that’s not good enough.”