Top 5 worst coaching decisions in college football history feat. Mario Cristobal

Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal made one of the worst coaching decisions in college football history on Saturday.

Miami was leading 20-17 lead and faced third-and-10 at the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets' 30-yard line. The Hurricanes could have kneeled down to win the game but opted to try for a rush, which resulted in a fumble. Georgie Tech ended up scoring a last-second touchdown to get the win.

After the game, many called that the worst coaching decision of all time, but what are some other bad ones?

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#1 James Franklin decides to run up the middle

In 2018, James Franklin coached Penn State was playing the 4-0 Ohio State Buckeyes. It was a big game, and down 27-26 with less than 90 seconds to go, the Nittany Lions faced a 4th and 5.

In an obvious passing down, James Franklin decided to run the ball straight up the middle and was stuffed rather quickly to lose the game. To make it worse, before that rush, running back Miles Sanders was averaging just 2.7 yards per carry that night.

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#2 Kirby Smart's fake punt

In 2018, Kirby Smart was coaching the Georgia Bulldogs against Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The game was tied 28-28 with 3:04 left as Georgia was facing a 4th and 11 and sent out the punt unit. The only problem is that backup quarterback Justin Fields also went onto the field and he would never line up for punts.

So, Alabama quickly realized it was fake and Fields tried to run the 11 yards himself and was quickly stuffed. The Crimson Tide scored two minutes later, reaching the College Football Playoff for the fourth consecutive year.

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#3 Rutgers spikes the ball

In 2015, Rutgers was facing fourth-ranked Michigan State and had the ball with five seconds left down 31-24.

Facing a fourth down, Rutgers needed a hail mary to try and get a touchdown to tie the game. Unfortunately, the clock was running and interim head coach Norries Wilson called for a spike to stop the clock.

The only problem was it was fourth down and by spiking the ball, Rutgers turned the ball over on downs. It was a terrible way for the game to end, and afterwards, Wilson confirmed he was the one that called for the spike, as he didn't realize it was fourth down.

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#4 Mario Cristobal made the same mistake

What made Miami's loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday even worse is the fact that isn't the first time Mario Cristobal could have called a knee to win the game.

While Cristobal was the head coach at Oregon in 2018, the Ducks were playing Stanford. Up 31-28 with less than a minute to go, Stanford only had one timeout left, with Oregon being on second down.

The Ducks could have kneeled two straight plays to win the game, but Cristobal called a run and CJ Verdell fumbled and Stanford recovered. The Cardinals ended up tying the game and won it in overtime.

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#5 BYU's fake punt call

In 2016, BYU was facing Boise State, and with 11 minutes left in the second quarter, the Cougars tried an odd move.

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake called a fake punt as the Cougars were facing a 4th and 19 from their own five-yard line. BYU punter Jonny Linehan caught the ball in the endzone and tried to run it the 19 yards. Unfortunately, he barely got out of the endzone and Boise State took over at the two-yard line.