Mario Cristobal owns Miami loss to Georgia Tech after baffling decision not to kneel: 'I made the wrong call'
After one of the most baffling decisions in recent football memory resulted in a Miami loss, head coach Mario Cristobal attempted Saturday night to explain his reasoning for not kneeling in the final minute against Georgia Tech.
On Monday, he just owned it. He screwed up.
"I made the wrong call," Cristobal said in the opening statement of his news conference. "I take full ownership in not taking a knee and giving them the opportunity to have a couple of extra plays and preventing us from sealing the win."
In case you missed it, Miami had a win locked up against Georgia Tech on Saturday. It held a 20-17 lead with possession of the ball on third down with 33 seconds remaining on the game clock. With a 40-second play clock, all the Hurricanes had to do to secure the win was take a knee and watch the game clock expire on fourth down. Instead, they ran the ball. Then this happened:
Miami was in position to win with 0:30 seconds remaining, only needing to kneel down the ball
They instead run the ball, fumble, Georgia Tech drives down the field for the win
Unreal
pic.twitter.com/yKr4wXWan9— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 8, 2023
Donald Chaney Jr. fumbled, and the Yellow Jackets recovered with 25 seconds remaining, still in need of another miracle to pull off the upset. They got one. They responded with a 74-yard drive that concluded with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Haynes King to Christian Leary to take a 23-20 lead with one second left on the clock.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE U pic.twitter.com/3FGxDF1scy
— wow that was crazy (@CowardlyDoggo) October 8, 2023
Miami failed to find a miracle of its own in response and suffered its first loss of the season. Now, instead of a midseason showdown of undefeated ACC teams in a matchup against No. 12 North Carolina on Saturday, Miami will enter the game at 4-1 with an entirely unforced blemish on its record.
After the game, Cristobal provided a jumbled explanation for why Miami didn't just kneel.
"When the drive started, it was going to be at 1:57, and we could burn about 1:27 off, and then it was recalibrated," Cristobal said. "I should have taken a timeout right there at the end.
"I thought he could get the first down. We talked about two hands on the ball, but that’s not good enough. Just should have told him to take a knee and that’s it. Fumbled the ball at the 25 and they went 75 yards in two plays, so no excuse.”
Only when he was asked did he acknowledge the obvious:
“We should have taken a knee," he continued.
Cristobal appeared just as flustered the rest of Saturday while providing his explanation. On Monday — after a couple of nights to sleep on it and a torrent of criticism — he led with the appropriate culpability.
It won't be enough to quash the criticism stoked by the disappointment of losing what this season might have been. But it's better than nothing.
