Mario Cristobal, Miami Trolled By Fans After Collapse In Upset Loss Vs. Georgia Tech

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 14: Head coach Mario Cristobal of the Miami Hurricanes looks on during the second quarter of the game against the Bethune Cookman Wildcats at Hard Rock Stadium on September 14, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Megan Briggs/Getty Images

The Miami Hurricanes football team snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on Saturday.

Miami led Georgia Tech 20-17 with 34 seconds remaining in regulation. The Hurricanes possessed the ball on a 3rd-and-10 from the Georgia Tech 30-yard line. The Yellow Jackets had no timeouts, so one kneeldown would have ended the game.

This was an easy call for victory formation, giving Miami a 5-0 record in the process.

Inexplicably, Miami called for a running play. Donald Chaney Jr., who had a solid game with 103 rushing yards on 23 carries, fumbled after a throng of Yellow Jackets tackled him. Georgia Tech defensive lineman Kyle Kennard recovered the ball, giving his team a shot at a miracle from its own 26-yard line with 25 seconds left.

Quarterback Haynes King found Malik Rutherford on a 30-yard pass two plays later. After an incomplete pass, King defied all odds with a 44-yard touchdown strike to Christian Leary with one second remaining.

ESPN @espn
“That’s one of the biggest coaching mistakes at this level that I have ever seen in my lifetime.”
Miami could’ve taken a knee and closed out Georgia Tech. Instead … disaster struck 😳 pic.twitter.com/I5vAvtn78p

Miami had one final shot but fumbled again, leading to one of the most remarkable finishes in recent college football memory.

Credit to Georgia Tech for taking advantage of the situation and completing an amazing comeback, but the bullseye is on Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal, who admitted postgame that he should have told quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to take a knee:

RJ Young @RJ_Young
Mario Cristobal after losing to Georgia Tech: “Should’ve told him to take a knee.” pic.twitter.com/dw8kaKsSts

He also offered an explanation for why he didn’t ask Van Dyke to go into victory formation:

Gabriel Garcia @Gabewritesports
Cristobal on why the team didn’t take a knee in the final seconds of the game.#GoCanes || #ItsAllAboutTheU || @CanesFootball pic.twitter.com/vh8h3dhdoe

Needless to say, bewilderment and confusion took centerstage from a host of analysts and fans alike.

Jane Coaston @janecoaston
If you give me 80 million dollars right now, I do not promise you much, but I do promise you this: I know how clocks work.

Scott Van Pelt @notthefakeSVP
“WTF are we doing?”
That’s kinda what everyone is wondering. I can’t believe any of that happened. https://t.co/QJIfoNIw6m

Brett McMurphy @Brett_McMurphy
Not 1st time, Mario Cristobal not taking a knee cost him. In 2018, Oregon fumbled w/51 seconds left, Stanford gets tying FG & wins 38-31 in OT https://t.co/aUUhTD9DPX

Alex Kirshner @alex_kirshner
There’s one word for this. It’s “cause” https://t.co/KXC6yxQ2dP

Rodger Sherman @rodger
You should be able to fire a coach for cause for this https://t.co/Wfxv3G9xEI

Bill Barnwell @billbarnwell
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes https://t.co/ALyanUmBTi

Ken Goodrich @KenGoodrich
Athletic directors should include basic clock management questions in the interview process.

Barry Jackson @flasportsbuzz
Instead of spending offseason sending emails threatening his staff if they talked more to local writers, Cristobal should have worked on simple math instead. What a joke.

Ben DuBose @BenDuBose
With all the money in football, it’s truly astounding how many teams can’t calculate on the fly when you can literally kneel a game out.
You can pay a guy/girl $50K annually and bat 1.000 on this. It’s math, and the reward is more than worth the investment. Alas. https://t.co/DhrV06gmWN

Fran Fraschilla @franfraschilla
Coaching malpractice in Miami. @GeorgiaTechFB needs to get on the plane & get out of dodge because they stole one. Canes should have been in “victory formation” & they fumble a running play. @accnetwork analyst Tim
Hasselbeck was all over this!

Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbach
The coaching malpractice in Miami is going to keep me up at night.

Bryan Fischer @BryanDFischer
After other schools paid to take their coach off their hands, any fan bases happier than Oregon and Louisville tonight?

Pete Prisco @PriscoCBS
What a stupid coaching disaster by Miami. Take three knees and go home. Coaching stupidly 101

Sickos Committee @SickosCommittee
Wheeeeeeee pic.twitter.com/PPwE4aSLS5

Sanjay Kirpalani @SanjayKirpalani
Miami literally F’d around and found out.
I can’t believe what I just watched.
Cristobal has dealt with a lot of things trying to rebuild this program, but with a 5-0 start in your grasp, to give it away has to sting.
Gotta wonder how this team will respond.
wow.

Patrick Daugherty @RotoPat
Mario Cristobal’s tinnitus just blaring “The Sound of Silence”

Dan Wolken @DanWolken
That’s a burn the program to the ground loss for Miami. I seriously cannot believe that just happened.

Cristobal has found himself in this situation before when he was Oregon’s head coach. Kneeldowns would have given his Ducks a 31-28 win over Stanford during a Sept. 22, 2018 game, but that did not happen.

Chris Vannini @ChrisVannini
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