Miami's Mario Cristobal explains strange timeout decision before costly personal foul penalty in loss to SMU

Miami coach Mario Cristobal's late-game decisions have been widely criticized and there's another making the rounds following Saturday's 26-20 overtime loss at SMU.

Cristobal elected to call timeout with 1:08 to play leading 20-17 with SMU facing a fourth-and-9 near midfield with no timeouts. The timeout was called just before the snap, and defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot failed to stop his momentum after the whistle blew and was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty for hitting quarterback Kevin Jennings.

The Mustangs used the free yardage to get into field goal range to tie it before eventually winning in overtime, the program's first win over a top 10 opponent at home in more than 50 years. 

After the game, Cristobal explained that Miami was trying to get a look at SMU's personnel before using the timeout.

"We tried to see what they're in, so we're using a timeout. Marquise didn't hear the whistle, he's just playing football," Cristobal said. "I'm not sure why that's called in a critical situation. We're trying to stop play. It's really loud. I imagine people should step in and prevent players from moving forward and finishing a play, but it didn't happen and we were called for a personal foul."

Miami (6-2) was flagged 12 times for 96 yards and suffered two turnovers, including a Carson Beck interception in overtime that proved fatal.

"Those are things we work on daily. Things we made a point of emphasis, but we're not getting the result," Cristobal said. "We're not coaching it, teaching it and executing it well enough."

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Once ranked No. 2 this season with 12 first-place votes in the AP Poll following a 5-0 start, the Hurricanes have fallen out of the College Football Playoff picture with two losses over their last three games.

It's a humiliating stretch for a team that entered the campaign with a loaded roster after exhausting resources this offseason in the transfer portal and in recruiting.

"At the end of the day, like I told the guys, you've got to be a grown man and face it," Cristobal said. "When things go wrong, that's when all the rats come out and try to peck at you. You have to tell them to … you know what. And go to work. And do it emphatically with guts."

Cristobal said the Hurricanes will not hang their heads after their second ACC loss.

"We've always been confident in our team. We've lost four games in the last two regular seasons by one possession," Cristobal said. "Even when we screw it up, it's sill hard to beat Miami. We really found a way to not execute, every coach, every player."