November misery continues for No. 10 Miami under Mario Cristobal with upset loss at SMU

It often isn't how a team starts but how it finishes in college football that's most important. And once again, during the Mario Cristobal era, the Miami Hurricanes are only getting worse as the season progresses.

On Saturday, Associated Press No. 10 Miami (6-2, 2-2 in ACC) fell at SMU (6-3, 4-1 in ACC), 26-20 in overtime, for its second loss in three games after a 5-0 start. The result continued a troubling trend for the Hurricanes, who have routinely wilted down the stretch under Cristobal, going 4-9 (.308) in November since 2022. They are 24-7 (.774) from August to October during that span.

Miami Hurricanes' downward spiral is a poor reflection of Mario Cristobal's coaching

The best teams in the country peak in the final full month of the regular season. It's not a coincidence that time and time again, Miami has played its worst at the end of the year. Making matters worse, Cristobal has failed to take advantage of a weak ACC that has been up for grabs with Clemson and Florida State fading into irrelevancy. Overall, the Hurricanes are 14-14 against the conference under Cristobal. For as much talent as the Canes have, there's no reason they should struggle so mightily against (mostly) inferior competition.

Less than a month ago, Miami was the No. 2 team in the country after a 28-22 win over Florida State. But following Saturday, ESPN's Allstate Playoff predictor gives the Hurricanes an eight percent chance of making the College Football Playoff. With two conference losses, they may have already played themselves out of contention for the ACC championship game and instead likely must win out to even be considered for an at-large bid.

The only coaches other than Cristobal who have done less with more over the past few seasons (James Franklin, Brian Kelly) are out of jobs, and if Miami responds to Saturday's loss with lackluster efforts down the stretch against Syracuse (3-6, 1-5 in ACC), North Carolina State (4-4, 1-3 in ACC), Virginia Tech (3-5, 2-2 in ACC) and Pitt (6-2, 4-1 in ACC), the program might need to consider alternative options for 2026.

The Hurricanes have fallen into a vicious cycle of peaking early before collapsing late. If Cristobal hasn't solved the problem yet, he likely never will.