Despite committing the same error two years earlier, Miami HC Mario Cristobal blunders again, allowing Georgia Tech to win in the final second

In a game that was eerily reminiscent of a costly error made by Miami’s head coach, Mario Cristobal, two years ago, history repeated itself as the Hurricanes suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech.

The game came down to the final seconds, and Cristobal’s questionable decision-making once again left fans and analysts scratching their heads.

Mario Cristobal’s mistake costs Miami against Georgia Tech

Instead of taking a knee and securing what should have been a certain victory, Miami ended up suffering a disastrous loss at the hands of Georgia Tech. In a shocking turn of events, the Hurricanes allowed Georgia Tech to turn a monumental mistake into a last-second miracle.

With just two seconds left on the clock, Haynes King launched a 44-yard touchdown pass to Christian Leary, sealing a stunning 23-20 victory for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets managed to cover 74 yards in a mere 24 seconds, right after Miami had the option to simply kneel down, run out the clock, secure the win, and maintain their undefeated status.

Unfortunately for Miami, instead of taking the safe route, disaster struck. Don Chaney fumbled the ball away, and while Miami argued that he was down, the referees disagreed. This turn of events allowed Georgia Tech to pull off an incredible upset, leaving Miami and their fans in disbelief.

In the post-game conference, Cristobal said, “Not going to make an excuse for it, say we should’ve done this or that. That’s it. We should’ve done it. Sometimes you get carried away with just, finish the game and run it. I should’ve stepped in and said, ‘Hey, just take a knee.'”

Mario Cristobal’s mistake during his time at Oregon

The worst possible part about this unfortunate incident might be that this wasn’t coach Mario Cristobal’s first time committing this particular error. In 2021, back when he was with the Oregon Ducks, the exact same mishap occurred, which eventually paved the way for the Cardinals to take an easy dub.

In that game’s post-match conference, Cristobal was defensive of his decision-making. He said, “No, we’ve got a good red zone plan. Thought there were some things that we could take advantage of. Thought we had a pretty good mix of run and pass as to what they were playing. They were mixing up what they were doing, as well. I think hindsight it might be easy to say, but overall I thought that the plan that we went on and attempted to execute was the right plan.”

In another episode of déjà vu, Mario Cristobal’s controversial call cost Miami greatly. It’s a bitter pill for Hurricanes supporters to swallow after witnessing history repeating itself in a heartbreaking defeat. Whether it’s a lesson learned or a hard-to-break habit, one thing is certain: Cristobal’s decision-making will be argued over for a long time.

The question remains, can he put the past behind him and lead his squad to a brighter future? Only time can tell as the Hurricanes’ journey continues.