FootyChatter.com

NCAAF College Football Week 10 Cristobal's Miami teams keep making head-scratching mistakes in the closing moments of key games. Jerome Miron / Imagn Images DALLAS — As “I Like It, I Love It” by Tim Mc Graw blared over the loudspeaker, it was hard to hear anything Miami’s head coach or players were saying deep up the tunnel at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, whispering and mumbling in an old meeting room. Minutes earlier, the Hurricanes were swarmed by hundreds of polo shirts and cowboy boots as SMU fans flooded the field to tear down a goalpost. With dignitaries like former president George W. Bush and actor Christopher Mc Donald — best known by many as “Happy Gilmore” villain Shooter Mc Gavin — on hand, SMU pulled out a 26-20 win over No. 10 Miami in overtime. It took until November for the Hurricanes’ first trip outside the state of Florida this season, and they got hit with a Texas tornado. Advertisement In that tunnel, the visitors looked and sounded shell-shocked. A team that just a few weeks ago appeared set to walk into the College Football Playoff is suddenly going to be on the outside looking in without getting some help in the season’s final month. With Saturday’s loss, the Hurricanes’ odds to make the 12-team field dropped from 84 percent to 26 percent, according to The Athletic’s projections. “A lot of self-inflicted issues for us, ” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “A lot of penalties, it’s on all of us. ” The upset may have been stunning to some, but not to anyone who has paid attention to the Hurricanes program under Cristobal. If you were to draw up a Miami loss without watching a single play, it would’ve been exactly what transpired  Saturday. Interceptions from quarterback Carson Beck? Yep: Two, to raise his total to nine through eight games this season. One, on a dropped pass, wasn’t Beck’s fault. But the other, in overtime, on the biggest play of the game, was completely his fault. This a few weeks after a four-interception affair in the loss to Louisville. Undisciplined play? You know it: twelve Miami penalties, eight in the first half. The worst one came as SMU faced fourth-and-9 while driving for the tie with a minute left, when Marquise Lightfoot hit SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings after the whistle — which came because of a Miami timeout. Automatic first down. Game management questions? Of course. Miami lost at least one timeout called because of the play clock winding down. Then with 25 seconds left in regulation, holding a timeout and needing only a field goal to win, Miami didn’t even attempt an offensive drive from its 25-yard line, kneeling to go to overtime instead. Cristobal said after the game that anything inside the 25-yard line with less than 30 seconds is too risky. Given his QB, maybe that was the right call. Advertisement Losing as a heavy favorite? Count it. The Canes were favored by 12. 5 points earlier in the week, though the line had dipped under 10 points by kickoff. This is what Miami is and has been under Cristobal: all the talent in the world combined with the inability to put it all together as a clear and cohesive unit for a sustained period of time. Now the Hurricanes are suddenly staring at missing the CFP again. All four of Miami’s losses over the past two years have come as a multi-score betting favorite. Cristobal is now 4-9 in November as Miami’s head coach, including 2-3 over the last two years with one of the more talented teams in the country. A subdued Cristobal was frustrated afterward with some of the officiating, including that monumental flag on the fourth-down late hit. He also said SMU’s defense was mimicking Miami’s offensive cadence, a reason for the numerous false start penalties. There was also a defensive pass interference flag picked up late in regulation that, had the penalty been assessed, would’ve ended the game and given Miami the win. Some understandable gripes. “It is what it is, that happens in football, no excuses, ” Cristobal said. “Have enough discipline. ” But Miami was also fortunate for an SMU missed field goal that sailed almost directly over the post in the fourth quarter and might have been good, depending on your angle. The Canes were playing against a hobbled Jennings, who came out at one point after aggravating an ankle injury and appeared to be out there on one foot at times. No matter — Jennings threw for 365 yards and completed 66 percent of his passes. This SMU team was undoubtedly overlooked, coming in at 5-3 but just two plays away from being 7-1. SMU had just announced a new contract extension for Rhett Lashlee, keeping him in town as the coaching carousel gets even wilder. Advertisement Lashlee was Miami’s offensive coordinator not long ago under former coach Manny Diaz, then brought a slew of Miami transfers when he came to SMU. They played a big role in last year’s Playoff run, a trip that Miami still hasn’t taken. Lashlee also made three former Canes the game captains for Saturday. He has thrived off what Miami let go. Now the Canes head home needing a lot of help to realize their postseason hopes. With two ACC losses, their path to Charlotte for the conference title game looks very difficult. In more than two decades in this league, Miami has made that game just once. No program in recent conference realignment history has been more disappointing relative to expectations in its new league. Its at-large Playoff hopes are boosted by a season-opening win against Notre Dame, but Miami needs to win out to even have a chance, and a regular-season-closing trip to Pitt looks difficult. This team has always been hard to trust because it makes those same mistakes time and time again. On Saturday, SMU liked it, loved it and got some more of it. For all the times it felt like “The U” might be back, as the meme goes, the Canes can’t stop tripping over themselves when it matters most. For the second year in a row, it might cost them a spot in the Playoff. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Chris Vannini has covered national college football issues and the coaching carousel for The Athletic since 2017. A co-winner of the FWAA's Beat Writer of the Year Award in 2018, he previously was managing editor of Coaching Search. com. Follow Chris on Twitter @Chris Vannini