It’s indefensible, right? Mario Cristobal should have had his team take a knee and secure the win over Georgia Tech. There is zero excuse not to. Even so, let me give it a try.
I’m going to assume what Cristobal was thinking here so bear with me. He hasn’t defended his actions because they are simply indefensible but I think I get why.
Miami hasn’t taken a knee to end a game yet. It’s obviously something they practice and is in the playbook but what about this thought? While it’s the smart play, it won’t make you better. My assumption is Cristobal felt there was likely less than a 1% chance his team could lose handing the ball off. Heck, he probably thought it was 0%. Miami was inside the Georgia Tech 30-yard line and there were 33 seconds left and the Jackets had zero timeouts. Taking a knee ices the game, we know this. But what are the chances of a fumble, a fumble being recovered by Georgia Tech and having them go more than 70 yards in less than 30 seconds even if they did get the ball? About a million to one maybe? That’s probably the thought. And Cristobal, a former offensive lineman who thrives on the physical run game, likely felt his team would need to actually run the football in late and crucial situations moving forward to put a game away rather than take a knee. He was practicing future situations with a game well in hand. Hand the ball off, two hands on the ball and ball security, and churn out needed and hard yards without fumbling. That had to be the thought. Nothing else makes sense.
Was it dumb? Oh yes. Was it costly? Unbelievably, as Miami lost a game against a bad team, lost their undefeated status and a chance at the ACC title game and Cristobal might have lost his team like he’s lost the fan base. It is also beyond crushing to his credibility and reputation as a good game coach. It’s arguably the dumbest coaching move in the history of college football since it’s a repeat of what he did at Oregon in 2018 against Stanford that cost the Ducks an easy win. This decision is damaging at so many levels I can’t even write about them all.
But what if Donald Chaney Jr. hadn’t fumbled? What if none of this less than 1% stuff hadn’t happened? The fans would still be upset about a close win over a bad Georgia Tech team but Miami would be undefeated and Cristobal would have gotten his team some key reps in running out the clock with the power run game.
Makes sense? I know, it doesn’t. Like I said, there’s no defense but that had to be what he was thinking.
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