Mario Cristobal Takes the Ball out of his Best Players Hands and it Cost the Season
As a head coach with the season on the line and is given two choices, give the best player that the program has seen in the past 20 years or trust a defense that had given up the most yards all season long, most would assume to give it to one of the best players in the country.
No. 6 Miami Season Ends and Fail to Reach the ACC Championship Game
Instead, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal choose to trust one of the worst defenses in the country instead of giving his Heisman trophy contender a chance to make the play that could have saved the season.
Cam Ward is the only reason the Hurricanes were in all of the positions that they were in. Moreover was the glue that held up a team so flawed that he covered almost every whole. Almost.
Cristobal for all of his flaws had a great season coaching. Only one true "Mario Blunder" against Georgia Tech, but the team still controlled its own destiny entering Syracuse and only needed to win.
Then the biggest one of all happened. He trusted a terrible defense that had failed him time after time all season long instead of putting the ball in his Heisman trophy contenders' hands.
With less than five minutes remaining in the game, it was fourth and goal from the 17, he decided to send out Andres Borregales to nail a chip shot.
The Hurricanes only had one stop on the defensive side of the ball in the second half and that was thanks to a forced fumble by freshman linebacker Bobby Pruitt. However, when he did that, the Cuse were driving down the field with ease and in the red zone.
Cristobal will have to live with that call for the rest of his career. He wasted the best offensive season in program history and likely a top-10 NFL Draft pick who consistently saved the day. 10-2 would be great for some, but for Cristobal, this is one of the most disappointing seasons in his coaching career.
