Mario Cristobal defending Cam Ward's Pop-Tarts Bowl decision is too little, too late

The Miami Hurricanes' season was over as soon as they lost to Syracuse in what used to be called the Carrier Dome. Miami needed to beat the Orange to clinch a spot in the ACC Championship Game. However, a pair of conference losses down the stretch to Georgia Tech and Syracuse had them on the outside looking in at making the College Football Playoff. And so to the Pop-Tarts Bowl they went.

In what should have been one of the better non-playoff games of bowl season, all we could talk about was Miami quarterback Cam Ward playing the first half to pad his stats and then sitting out the second half. This allowed for Rocco Becht and the Iowa State Cyclones to come marching back to pull off a thrilling barn-burner victory over the Canes. Had Ward played the whole game, Miami wins.

Weeks are the Pop-Tarts Bowl reached conclusion, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal called "b******t" when it came to Ward quitting on the team at halftime. He said this was "a false narrative" and that this was a decision made well before the bowl game even started, based on Ward's overall likelihood of being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Get ready to play for the Tennessee Titans then!

It may have been done to help curry favor with Ward as he enters the NFL, but it is too little, too late.

Miami has since landed former Georgia starting quarterback Carson Beck in the transfer portal.

Mario Cristobal arrives late to Cam Ward Pop-Tarts Bowl defense party

As far as if Ward should be the No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft by a team like the Titans, sure, why not? They have no clue what they are doing as a franchise and are in dire need of a quarterback. This is not the best quarterback draft in recent memory, so a talented player like Ward can take advantage of the situation. Only Ward and Colorado Buffaloes star Shedeur Sanders are locks to go in the first round.

While I totally understand Cristobal coming to Ward's defense, albeit much later than he should have, when does it stop being a coincidence for the Miami head coach? Three years into leading his alma mater, the Hurricanes are an immensely talented college football team, but one that largely underachieves because of its head coach. His in-game decision making has cost Miami quite dearly.

This is why I said Beck hurrying back from a season-ending injury is a double-edged sword. He is doomed by rushing back, and doomed if he does not. Beck has to do what Ward did by getting on page with an entirely new receiving corps. While he may have been more accomplished coming in than Ward, Beck is not coming in with a clean bill of health. Cristobal is also not Kirby Smart either...

Cristobal can call "b******t" all he wants, but the narrative is already being written about his program.