Booger McFarland hammers Mario Cristobal following Georgia Tech upset of Miami

Miami fell from the ranks of the undefeated in college football on Saturday, losing on the road to Georgia Tech. It was a loss that many felt was potentially coming, as the Hurricanes flirted with danger throughout the season.

And with Miami finally getting burned for playing with fire, ESPN analyst Booger McFarland dressed down head coach Mario Cristobal.

“All season long, Miami has been toying, playing with its food,” McFarland said. “Today, they finally got burnt. Cam Ward couldn’t save it today. And if you’re Mario Cristobal, there were a couple questionable coaching decisions, bad use of timeouts and again, your team was not ready to take on an inferior opponent.”

While Miami got burnt for the first time on Saturday, there have been moments of peril already.

The controversial Hail Mary ending against Virginia Tech could’ve easily been a loss and the Hurricanes also had to come back from a double digit deficit on the road against Cal.

Games against Louisville and Duke also could’ve gone awry for Miami at various points.

And in all those games, Ward and others managed to produce some magic and get the Hurricanes out ahead. That didn’t happen Saturday against Georgia Tech.

While Ward played well enough, he missed on a few key conversions and gave up a game-sealing sack fumble on Miami’s last gasp drive.

“I get it, he’s right, you got to wear it,” McFarland said about Cristobal. “More importantly, the coaching staff has to wear it. Time and time again — how many times has Cam Ward had to save them? He couldn’t save them today. That’s a bad loss for Miami.”

Georgia Tech fans reveled in the upset

Georgia Tech ended Miami’s perfect season on Saturday and the students storming the field after the upset in Atlanta weren’t leaving the goalposts be. And like so many fans in college football of late, they weren’t going to stay in the stadium, either.

So after tearing down the uprights and parading them out of the stadium, the fans looked for somewhere to take them. Their choice of destination?

A campus duck pond.

#GaTech’s goal posts have found their resting place.

So did Miami’s hopes of going undefeated pic.twitter.com/fJoOBzvDTA

— The Crowded Booth (@thecrowdedbooth) November 9, 2024

The victory over Miami pushed the Yellow Jackets to its sixth win of the season, qualifying them for a bowl game while the future of Miami’s season is now in the hands of the College Football Playoff selection committee.