Miami's Mario Cristobal: 'No Way to Rationalize' Choice to Not Kneel Down vs. GT

Mario Cristobal is not taking his season-and-reputation-altering decision to not kneel the ball Saturday against Georgia Tech lightly.

On his Monday morning radio show, the Miami head coach took full responsibility for the decision, which resulted in a costly fumble and ultimately spearheaded Georgia Tech's game-winning drive.

"There's no way to rationalize it. It's the wrong decision. Should've kneeled it," Cristobal said on Audacy's AM 560 Sports WQAM.

With Georgia Tech out of timeouts with 1:18 remaining and Miami holding a 20-17 lead, Cristobal made the odd decision to run plays rather than kneel out the clock. While the first run went off without a hitch, Donald Chaney Jr. coughed up the ball with 33 seconds remaining on the second.

The Yellow Jackets went 74 yards down the field in 25 seconds to take the lead in what was one of the most confounding losses in recent college football history.

Cristobal admitted after the game the team should have taken the knee, but it's worth pointing out that this was seemingly an internal strategy rather than a one-off goof. Miami did not kneel down at the end of any of its first four victories to start the 2023 season.

While it's understandable to set a tone to play through the final whistle, there's such a thing as just taking the win and getting out of the stadium. The overwhelming odds are Cristobal will never make such a blunder again.