Miami Coach Calls It a Mistake to Not Take Knee, But Lost a Game Before With Exact Same Decision

Mario Cristobal apparently didn't remember a similar situation five years ago.

Miami suffered an improbable, inexplicable loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday, choosing to run the ball on a third-down play instead of simply taking a knee and letting the fourth-quarter clock expire. 

Hurricanes running back Donald Chaney Jr. fumbled and the Yellow Jackets recovered, leading to a 44-yard pass from Haynes King to Christian Leary for the game-winning touchdown.  

All Miami had to do was kneel and the clock would have run out.

Instead, they inexplicably ran the ball. Fumbled. Then Georgia Tech marched down the field and won.

MADNESS.

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— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) October 8, 2023

After the game, Miami coach Mario Cristobal acknowledged the call was a mistake (while also seemingly blaming Chaney for not keeping two hands on the ball). However, perhaps he was experiencing some déjà vu while making those remarks. 

As several fans and reporters pointed out afterward, Cristobal lost a game in a similar fashion five years earlier when he was the head coach at Oregon. 

The craziest about the Miami end of game debacle is that this isn’t Mario Cristobal’s first time losing a game by not taking a knee.

This is from 2018 at Oregon.

Wow.
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— Adam Breneman (@AdamBreneman81) October 9, 2023

During a 2018 game against Stanford, the Ducks held a 31–28 lead late in the fourth quarter. Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert could have taken a knee to run the clock down. Instead, Oregon called a running play for CJ Verdell, who fumbled the ball. Stanford recovered, tied the game, and eventually won in overtime. 

Did Cristobal not remember that situation? Granted, it was five years ago. Yet considering how costly the mistake was, the coach would seemingly remember. Or perhaps he did recall, but stubbornly thought he could get the first down this time. 

Instead, Cristobal made an infamous decision that looks like one of the worst ever made by a head coach at the Power 5 level.