They tried hard. They played hard. They also weren't very smart. No, not just the players but the way this team is coached on game day by Mario Cristobal.

The Hurricanes gave a game effort in losing to the Louisville Cardinals, 38-31, at Hard Rock Stadium.

There's a lot that can be said here, which I'm sure will be repeated ad naseum on this fine forum. But I wanted to focus in on a few game (mis)management decisions made by Cristobal in this game. There's a phrase that players win games, coaches lose them.

Not saying that this is the case here, but Cristobal once again did not put his guys in the best position to succeed. This hurts me as a guy who supports Cristobal ( yeah, still!!), but this had to be stated. His handling of certain situations gives the opposition about 7-10 points per game. Which is OK versus Bethune-Cookman, but not good ACC teams.

This Miami team isn't just undisciplined, it's also kinda dumb.

After what was an offensive explosion from UM (by their standards), they were up 21-14, and after a missed field goal by the 'Ville, they had a great opportunity to extend their lead to two scores. With around two-and-a-half minutes to go in the half, they had tactical control of the game going into halftime. Mind you, the Cardinals would recieve the second half kick, and they have a lively offense. At the very least, one timeout would squeeze the clock on Louisville.

But UM predictably decided to play 'Marioball', where they leaned on the run game. No real attempt to get the ball outside to your athletes. A 3rd and short run was stuffed (something that seems to happen a lot to this team that is supposedly so stout upfront).

And after Miami was forced to punt, they gave up a TD. But a missed PAT gave Miami a 21-20 halftime lead but you got the sense the opportunity to really take control of the game was lost. Yeah, it's easy to second guess, and no one drive in the second quarter will ever win or lose a game. But they can certainly impact them. Too many times Cristobal makes decisions that put his teams at a disadvantage.

We can't say Oregon fans didn't warn us.

Some other thoughts:

- Mark Fletcher, I've been a bit critical of his elusiveness but he had a big game (17 carries for 126 yards, and two TDs), and he actually made some people miss today. I expect him to make a big jump in his sophomore season.

- Tyler Van Dyke had a solid game, yeah, we can say it (24 for 39, 327 yard, 1 TD). I still would like to see a dual-threat quarterback moving forward. Too many times you see runs being chased down from the backside as there is no threat of him pulling the ball at the mesh point. But hats off to him for playing well today, regardless.

But moving forward, I think Miami/Cristobal has to rethink it's whole offensive approach and philosophy. Just look at how Brohm kept Lance Guidry's unit off-balance for much of this game. Pace, tempo and space. It can do wonders of your offense.

- Another issue I have with this team, how many punts have our returns allowed to hit the ground and bounce, which either rolls for extra yardage, or takes off valuable time(as it did in the late stages today). Again, if you're not going to have Devin Hester back there, can you at least do the fundamental things on a consistent basis?

- Kam Kitchens, is a boom-or-bust player. Yeah, he gets his share of INT's, but he gives up way too many big plays. Darryl Williams he ain't.

- Another coaching/game management gaffe -- the timeout on 3rd and goal, when you had all three remaining. That was huge, given that it would have given you much more time on what ended up being your last possession.

- Finally, the late unsportsmanlike penalties. Our guys got goaded into flags that were key in giving up field position in a game where Xavier Restrepro was tackled inside the five yard line. At what point will our players have better awareness and football IQ? At what point will the coaches hold them accountable.

There was once a coach who said that there are no little things or big things. They all matter. A thing is a thing.

His name?

Mario Cristobal.