All Miami had to do was kneel it out, but they ran the ball instead
The wild ending of the Miami Hurricanes-Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets game on Saturday night came because of perhaps one of the worst coaching decisions in college football history.
The Hurricanes had the game all but over with 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter and a 20-17 lead. On third-and-10, it was expected that they would just kneel the ball, not risking any turnover whatsoever to cap their victory.
Instead, the Hurricanes decided to call a run play with Donald Chaney Jr. in the backfield. It was a disastrous call for Miami.
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Head coach Mario Cristobal of the Miami Hurricanes during the Miami Redhawks game at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 1, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Chaney fumbled after gaining four yards on the play and Georgia Tech’s Kyle Kennard pounced on it to change possession with 33 seconds left to play.
"We should have taken a knee," Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal said after the game.
Now, Miami needed to get a stop, but Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King had a comeback victory in mind.
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He threw a pass complete to Malik Rutherford for 30 yards to get into Miami territory. Then, he found Christian Leary for a 44-yard touchdown, flipping the score to 23-20, with one second left to play.
Miami, and everyone watching the game, was stunned.
Coach Mario Cristobal of the Miami Hurricanes reacts during the Bethune Cookman Wildcats game at Hard Rock Stadium on Sept. 14, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
"I’m going to say it. It needs to be said: That’s one of the biggest coaching mistakes at this level that I have ever seen in my lifetime," the color analyst said during the ESPN broadcast.
The Hurricanes were about to move to 5-0 on the season, but instead they suffered their first loss, and it was in their Atlantic Coast Conference, too.
Meanwhile, King couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Leary wide open streaking toward the right sideline.
"I felt it as soon as it left my fingers," King said, per ESPN, about the pass he threw for the win.
"We should have taken a knee," Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal said after the game. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The Yellow Jackets moved to 3-3 on the season.
Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
