The Hodgepodge: Mario Cristobal Makes One of the Worst Coaching Decisions Ever, Ohio State Hopes to Avoid the "Spoilermakers," USC Pulls a Rabbit out of Its Hat

By Garrick Hodge on October 9, 2023 at 12:48 pm
Mario Cristobal
Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
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We as sports fans/writers can often become prisoners of the moment and fall victim to recency bias.

After seeing an event unfold, we’ll claim a play/game/moment/decision is the best or worst we’ve ever seen. Then, we realize an hour later our claim was an extreme exaggeration when provided with the proper context.

That said, knowing our tendency to exaggerate, 48 hours later, I can confidently say Mario Cristobal made one of the worst coaching decisions I have ever seen on Saturday. Not since the Miracle at the Meadowlands in 1978 and Baylor’s unexplainable gaffe of 1999 against UNLV have we seen such tomfoolery. 

With 33 seconds left, Miami possessed the football up by three points. Georgia Tech was out of timeouts. The Yellow Jackets were powerless to stop the clock. The Hurricanes’ win probability was 99.99%, as a simple kneel-down would have cemented the victory for Miami. Most casual viewers had already switched to a different channel and game.

But then the 0.01% occurred.

The Hurricanes opted to run a play, handing the ball off to Donald Chaney. Chaney fumbled at the end of the run, giving Georgia Tech an unexpected last reprieve with 26 seconds remaining. 

Miami inexplicably left Georgia Tech wide receiver Christian Leary wide open in the deep third of the field on the Yellow Jacket's final offensive play, resulting in the go-ahead touchdown with mere ticks remaining on the clock.

Let’s state it again just so it hits home: Cristobal lost a game he had a 100% chance of winning. This led to his past clock management atrocity of 2018 resurfacing, though in fairness that one wasn’t quite as bad. 

So, what on earth do you say to reporters after you commit one of the most unexplainable acts in recent college football memory? You’d think Cristobal would rightfully fall on the sword and say something along the lines of ‘This falls 100 percent on me,’ yada yada. While he did admit his team “should have taken a knee," he also had the audacity to try and deflect some blame to Chaney's fumble. 

That’s an all-time unexplainable loss, man. If there was ever an on-field reason to fire somebody for cause, this is it.

Ohio State contends with the Spoilermakers

In what was probably more of a random happenstance than anything else, Ohio State faced five undefeated opponents in its first five games of the season, the first time that’s happened since 1940. 

At long last, the Buckeyes face an opponent with a number in the loss column this week, and a struggling one at that. But that won’t relax a good chunk of Ohio State fans, who know all too well what can happen when you face Purdue on the road. 

RELATED Five Things to Know About Purdue As Ohio State Prepares for First Trip to West Lafayette Since 2018

The Buckeyes will make their third trek to Indiana this year to play the Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium, where championship seasons go to die, both for the home and visiting teams. Ohio State has lost three of its last four games to the pesky Spoilermakers on the road, most recently in 2018 when Rondale Moore ripped the Buckeyes’ defense to shreds in a 49-20 victory. 

Jeff Brohm, the grand architect of that 2018 upset, ain’t walking through that door for the Boilermakers, who have struggled mightily to a 2-4 record under first-year coach Ryan Walters. But let’s not forget the 2018 Purdue team also somehow lost to Eastern Michigan at home that same season, so it’s not like the ‘ole Purdue voodoo can’t rear its ugly head again. 

Throwing history out the window, this contest shouldn’t be close, as the talent gap between these two squads is night and day. But given the propensity this Ohio State team has to start slow, combined with a monumental matchup awaiting it in two weeks against Penn State, maybe the Spoilermakers make this more of a slog than expected. 

Ohio State spotlight of the week: Kyle McCord

All is well that ends well. The Buckeyes’ starter finished with a career-high 320 passing yards and completed 19 of 29 passes with two touchdowns in Ohio State’s 37-17 win over Maryland. But the first half left much to be desired from an offensive standpoint. Not all of that falls solely on McCord’s shoulders, as the running game was flat-out anemic at times. But McCord himself would tell you there were a few throws he’d want back. Ironically, two of the ones that stand out the most both turned into completions. 

McCord underthrew Marvin Harrison Jr. and Julian Fleming on separate plays when both were wide open, with on-target throws likely resulting in touchdowns. But McCord rebounded and eventually turned in one of his better games as a Buckeye. In his postgame press conference, McCord said he’d focus this week on finding a way to get off to a better start against the Boilermakers. If he can do that, this one should be over early. 

RELATED Ohio State Stays Poised, Finds Rhythm in Passing Game in Second Half Against Maryland

USC somehow survives against Arizona

If you went to bed early on Saturday, you missed a hell of an ending between USC and Arizona. 

This game gave us enough to fill an entire section of whacky things of Week 6 by itself that we thought it deserved its own section. While a small novel could be written about the events transpiring from the final few seconds of regulation and the three overtimes, we’ll do our best to sum up the Trojans’ 43-41 narrow escape in triple overtime.

First of all, it was a minor miracle Arizona was even in the game in the first place, considering quarterback Noah Fifita was only making his second collegiate start. But what better defense to break in a young quarterback than one led by Alex Grinch? Fifita threw for 303 yards and five touchdowns in the contest. 

Alas, Heisman favorite Caleb Williams had a chance at a game-winning drive in a tie game with two minutes and eight seconds remaining in regulation. He drove the Trojans down to the 6-yard line with 24 seconds left. Then, things got weird. 

  • Despite Arizona only having one timeout left, USC somehow called a passing play that was incomplete, stopping the clock. 
  • Williams botches a handoff and fumbles the ball, but the Trojans catch a break and recover. 
  • Arizona uses its final timeout with four seconds remaining to ice USC’s kicker. 
  • The Trojans have trouble with the snap and somehow miss a 25-yard field goal, forcing overtime.
  • Answering USC’s opening score of OT, the Wildcats score on their first play of overtime. Considering you’re a massive road underdog, logic says to go for the two-point conversion and the win, right? Well, Jedd Fisch opted to kick the PAT instead. 
  • In the second overtime, Arizona had to burn a timeout after scoring a touchdown in double-overtime against USC because Fisch didn’t know the rule that you had to go for a two-point conversion and sent out his PAT unit by mistake. The two-point attempt failed. USC responds by scoring a touchdown but failing its own two-point attempt. 
  • Transitioning to essentially a two-point attempt tradeoff in overtime No. 3, USC uses the swinging gate formation out of nowhere. Williams pulls a rabbit out of his hat to convert the attempt.
  • Arizona attempted a halfback toss to answer, and it was not close to working, cementing the win for the Trojans. 

USC may be 6-0, but it looks pretty suspect out west. 

And then there were 14

Nearing the season’s halfway point, 14 out of 130 FBS teams are still undefeated. 

Big Ten: Ohio State (5-0), Michigan (6-0), Penn State (5-0)

Big 12: Oklahoma (6-0)

ACC: Louisville (6-0), North Carolina (5-0), Florida State (5-0)

SEC: Georgia (6-0)

Pac-12: Oregon (5-0), Washington (5-0), USC (6-0)

Group of Five: Liberty (5-0), James Madison (5-0), Air Force (5-0)

What was fun and what was wacky about Week 6

Week 6 had a lot of things that were fun

  • Curse the network executives who made the Red River game the same time as Ohio State and Maryland because that sure would have been nice to watch. Nonetheless, that game lived up to all its hype and more, with a blocked punt for a touchdown, late-game heroics by both teams and Oklahoma teammates getting matching Horns Down tattoos after the Sooners rallied to beat the Longhorns in the final minute. It’s a hell of a win for Oklahoma, which has already matched its season win total from a year ago in Brent Venables’ first year at the helm. Texas now doesn’t get to claim to be “back,” but it probably still has a path to the College Football Playoff if it wins out. 
  • It might have gotten lost in the shuffle a little bit, but what a win for Jeff Brohm and Louisville over Notre Dame. Who saw the 6-0 Cardinals coming when the season began? A double-digit win season and a New Year’s Six Bowl isn’t out of the question. 
  • I can’t say I’ve ever seen a player share his oxygen can with a fan before, but Western Kentucky wideout Malachi Corley gets to do what he wants after catching eight passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-28 win over Louisiana Tech. 
  • Oregon State is out here throwing touchdowns to defensive ends! 
  • Not only does it throw touchdowns to defensive ends, Oregon State has a turnover chainsaw. 
  • It’s always fun to see nose tackles make game-winning interceptions, so here’s to you, Cole Godbout, for securing a win for Wyoming over Fresno State in what was one of the more underrated games of the week.
  • Michigan did not allow a single completion against Minnesota in the second half of its 52-10 win over Minnesota. That is, unless you count a pick-six, the second of the night for the Wolverines. Like it or not, Michigan looks pretty incredible so far in 2023, even if its strength of schedule leaves a lot to be desired.
  • LSU may not have a defense, but it does have a star in Jayden Daniels, who completed 15 of 21 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns in addition to running for 145 yards and a touchdown in the Tigers’ 49-39 win over Missouri.
  • Still chuckling about Gus Johnson’s call on Denzel Burke’s massive hit on Tyrese Chambers.

Week 6 had a lot of wacky things too

  • I am the absolute last guy that wants to play uniform police, but these Iowa State uniforms make it look like the players aren’t wearing pants. 
  • Didn’t have “small army of T. Rexes/raptors invades Ames” on my college football bingo card for this week.
  • We’ve got some creative special teams things happening around the country. Both Iowa and USC on Saturday tried to intentionally force an opposing player to touch the ball on special teams plays so it would turn into a live ball. 
  • How did this formation work? 
  • A moment of silence for our fallen photographer, please.
  • Pretty funny that Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman couldn’t help but let his mind go to the gutter here.
  • This didn’t make it into the USC vs. Arizona recap, but those Pac-12 refs were on a major struggle bus Saturday night.
  • Jim Harbaugh is getting in on the team turnover celebrations too.
  • How did Saturday go for previously undefeated Kentucky against Georgia, you ask? Let’s sum up the Wildcats’ evening in one play.
  • This may be the luckiest game-clinching catch I’ve seen considering that if he doesn’t bobble the ball, he’s short of the sticks on third down and Texas A&M gets one more chance at a game-winning drive.
  • This Florida cornerback needs a hug.
  • Miami's unexplainable loss cost this poor soul a chance to win nearly $10,000.

Nepotism tracker 

My oh my, Iowa displayed some offensive innovation on Saturday. In the Hawkeyes’ 20-14 win against Purdue, quarterback Deacon Hill completed 6 of 21 passes for 110 yards with one touchdown to one interception, but, wait for it, not a single of those six receptions went to a wide receiver. Tight end Erick All hauled in five passes for 97 yards and a touchdown, while running back Kaleb Johnson caught the other pass for 13 yards in addition to running for 134 yards on 17 carries. 

You gotta give it to our pal Brian Ferentz, scoring 20 points when your quarterback completes only six passes and neither the defense nor special teams scored once, that’s lowkey kind of impressive. Nonetheless, that pace isn’t going to get him out of a one-way ticket to the Athletic Director’s office. 

Ultimately, Iowa could be setting itself up for, frankly, a weird situation. Outside of this week, Iowa should be favored in every single game it plays. Despite being college football’s (and this column’s) running joke this season, If Iowa can find a way to power past Wisconsin in Madison, it has a one-way driver’s seat to the Big Ten West title and its first 11-win season since 2015. But unless something drastically changes, Brian would still be under the 25-point threshold outlined in his contract. Would Kirk still have to fire his son after an 11 or 10-win season? 

The goal: 325 points across 13 games, for an average of 25 points per game. 

Last game: Iowa 20, Purdue 14

Points tallied this season: 131

If the season ended today: Iowa would average 21.8 points per game. Under the contract stipulation, poor Brian would be more burnt toast than the defensive backs tasked with covering Ja’Marr Chase and D.J. Moore this week. 

Up next: Iowa faces Wisconsin in the potential battle for the Big Ten West, who allowed 13 points in a 24-13 win over Rutgers.

Game of the Week

No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 7 Washington, 3:30 p.m. on ABC

Season record: 4-3

My pick: Washington -3

Breakdown: This game has lots of juicy implications, both on the Pac-12 race and the CFP. Oregon and Washington are two of the three undefeated teams remaining in the conference and well, you’ve seen USC’s defense, so it very well could be down to one on Saturday. It features two explosive offenses led by quarterbacks who are Heisman hopefuls in Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix, with Oregon No. 2 (51.6 points per game) and Washington No. 3 (46 ppg) in scoring offense nationally. 

Yet, the game is in Seattle, and in the end, I think Penix will get the best of Oregon for a second consecutive year.

Either way, the winner isn’t anywhere near home free to a clear CFP spot, as both teams still have to face USC, Utah, Washington State and Oregon State. Will the Pac-12 cannibalize itself out of the playoff yet again in its final year of existence, or will this be the year a team survives the gauntlet? 

Hodgepodge team classifiers after Week 6

CFP contenders: Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Florida State, Georgia, Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, North Carolina

Better win out if you want to be in the CFP: Alabama, Utah, Texas

Undefeated, but we know damn well this team ain’t going to the CFP: USC

New Year’s Six Bowl contenders: Oregon State, Louisville, Wyoming, Air Force, Ole Miss

Sorry, bud, maybe you’ll get to the CFP next year: LSU, Clemson, Notre Dame

This team's coach talks like an auctioneer: Texas A&M

This team lost a game where all it needed was one kneel down: Miami

This team is undefeated but ineligible for any postseason since it’s in its second year of transition to the FBS: James Madison

Fun Group of Five teams: Tulane, Toledo, Ohio, Liberty, Georgia State, Marshall

These teams have had a fun year: Colorado, Washington State, Kansas, UCLA, Duke, Maryland, BYU, Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia

One of these teams is going to win the B1G West: Iowa, Wisconsin

These teams have not had a fun year: Texas Tech, Baylor, Nebraska, Illinois, Arizona State, Stanford, Pittsburgh, Houston, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Arkansas, UCF, Cincinnati, Florida, Mississippi State

These poor teams have not won a game yet: Sam Houston State, Nevada

Might be looking for a new coach at the end of the year: Virginia, Boston College, Indiana

There’s already an interim coach: Northwestern 

The coach is already fired: Michigan State

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