On Saturday, the Miami Hurricanes left Florida for the first time this season and came home empty-handed, losing in Dallas 26-20 to SMU in overtime.
On 3rd-and-goal at the SMU seven yard line, Miami quarterback Carson Beck threw a back-breaking interception at the goal line, giving the Mustangs (6-3, 4-1 ACC) a chance to win their first top-10 victory at home since 1974.
In the ensuing possession, running back T.J. Harden punched in a one-yard touchdown to take down the ’Canes, as fans stormed the field.
Miami now falls to 6-2 on the season and has lost two of its last three, marking another disappointing November loss. Head coach Mario Cristobal is now 4-11 in his Miami tenure in the months of November and December.
With four games left in the season, changes are going to be needed for UM to end this season on a positive note.
- Playoff Hopes Likely Gone
On Oct. 5, the Hurricanes were the No. 2 team in the country and vying for the best team in the nation. Less than 30 days later, Miami’s season is all but over.
With two in-conference losses, the Hurricanes likely lose out on all hope to make the College Football Playoff.
Other two-loss hopefuls like Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, for example, will likely get the bump over Miami with losses coming against ranked opponents.
Georgia Tech falling to NC State would have opened the door to the ACC Championship, but Miami could not hold up their end of the bargain. Now UM will need SMU and Louisville to lose multiple conference games in order to jump them in the conference standings.
Even if things fall into place for Miami, the Hurricanes still need to win out. With 7-2 Pitt and a frisky NC State team, going undefeated the rest of the season is far from a certainty.
Sitting at No. 18 in the Week 11 AP Poll with no ranked opponents left on the schedule and two losses in an average conference, it will take a miracle for the Hurricanes to make the CFP.
The College Football Playoff show will make its first ranking on Tuesday, giving the ’Canes an estimate to their chances of making the playoffs. In all likelihood, everything points to another year with Miami falling just short.
With the most talented team of the Cristobal era, Miami needs a miracle with a month left in the season to sniff any championship.
- Penalties continue to be a legitimate problem
The Hurricanes committed 12 penalties for 96 yards. Once again, Miami was sloppy and undisciplined, and it cost the Hurricanes the game.
Whether it was pre-snap penalties, holding calls on the offensive line, or unnecessary roughness after the whistle, Miami again could not get out of its own way.
As talented as this Hurricanes team is, penalties have been a problem all year for Miami, averaging just under 70 penalty yards per game. UM averages the third most penalties of any team in the nation, with 8.6.
At a certain point you can’t overcome being an undisciplined football team. The Hurricanes had calls go against them, and it’s fair to question some of the officiating, but you have to control what you can control and Miami was unable to do that.
Miami has had this issue all year, and it has yet to be fixed, and for most of the season UM has gotten away with it, but as Saturday and the game against Louisville showed, that is not sustainable.
3. Everyone Needs to Look in the Mirror
“Just got to be a grown man and face reality,” Cristobal said postgame. “We didn’t take care of business, and that’s completely on us.”
This Hurricanes football team is likely going to fall short of the postseason, and that is the fault of leadership across the board.
With one of the best offensive and defensive lines in the country, a refreshed defense that has yet to let up 30 points, and more than enough weapons, it quickly became evident that this Miami team could and should have competed for a national championship. Yet once again UM couldn’t get out of its own way.
It’s been the trend since the fourth quarter of the game against FSU. Despite being the superior team, Miami made constant unforced errors that gave a struggling opponent life.
It is the job of Cristobal to keep guys ready to play and disciplined on the field. And as we’ve seen each year as the season wears on, Miami has had these issues derail promising seasons.
Cristobal’s recruiting and team-building prowess has been impressive, building the program up year by year.
That being said, given the quality of the team he’s built, the expectations have grown, and in his fourth year, these gameday and discipline lapses have to fall on him. But he is not the only one to take fault; Miami’s leaders, both in the coaching staff and on the field, need to get this fixed.
With four games left in the season, changes have to be made for Cristobal and the Hurricanes if they want to end the season on a high.
The ’Canes (6-2, 2-2 ACC) will host the Syracuse Orange (3-6, 1-5 ACC) on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm on ESPN.
