Miami loses Pinstripe Bowl to Rutgers: Can Mario Cristobal end Canes’ on-field mediocrity?

Sooner or later, there will probably be a payoff to Mario Cristobal’s homecoming. It just hasn’t come to fruition yet on the field.

Rutgers won the Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday, 31-24, to put an end to Miami’s dominance in the all-time series and deny the Hurricanes their first postseason victory since 2016. Cristobal’s program made progress off-the-field with back-to-back top-10 recruiting classes for the first time since 2005, but his second season had a disappointing ending with losses in six of the last nine games to finish 7-6.

The Hurricanes were 4-0 and ranked in the AP Top 25 before a last-second meltdown against Georgia Tech at home led to the landslide down the stretch. Here are some takeaways on the bowl game, the season and what will be important for Miami fans to track over the next few months:

• If Hurricanes fans are looking for a silver lining in the loss, Miami was more shorthanded than the team Rutgers trotted out during the regular season.

Miami played without seven full-time starters from the regular season: quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (Wisconsin transfer), receiver Colbie Young (Georgia), left guard Javion Cohen (opted out for the NFL draft), center Matt Lee (draft), defensive tackle Leonard Taylor (draft) and safeties Kamren Kinchens (draft) and James Williams (draft). It was also missing a handful of rotation players, including receiver Brashard Smith, who didn’t make the trip to New York.

So far, nine players have entered the transfer portal, but more are expected before the Jan. 2 transfer deadline. The Hurricanes sit at 89 scholarship players counting the 27 recruits in the 2024 signing class and four transfers who have announced their commitments to the program.

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• Kyle Monangai, the Big Ten’s leading rusher, devoured the Hurricanes on the ground. He ran 25 times for 163 yards and a touchdown. Rutgers finished with 208 yards rushing as a team — the second time an opponent ran for more than 200 against the Hurricanes this season.

Miami didn’t allow a team to rush for over 100 yards until North Carolina finally broke through in the sixth game. Five of Miami’s final six opponents eclipsed the 100-yard mark.

• Third-string quarterback Jacurri Brown struggled to move Miami’s offense on the first two drives, but he led the Hurricanes to 17 points on the next three drives. That included a 30-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Restrepo to give Miami a 17-14 lead in the third quarter.

Brown completed 20 of 31 attempts for 181 yards and ran for a team-high 57 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw a bad interception in the first half.

It’s unclear if Brown, a Georgia native, will remain with the program or enter the portal. Freshman Emory Williams replaced Van Dyke as the starter earlier season when he struggled with injuries and interceptions and took the bulk of the second-team snaps in practice throughout the season. Williams only ceded the job back to Van Dyke after he broke his left arm diving for a first down late in the loss at Florida State.

The staff is still waiting on word from former Washington State starter Cameron Ward, who visited Miami and Florida State a few weeks back and is mulling whether to stay in college or enter the NFL Draft. One way or the other, Miami is expected to add an experienced starting quarterback through the portal and more depth at safety.

• Standout freshman running back Mark Fletcher Jr. sustained what appeared to be a serious left foot injury early in Thursday’s game. WQAM sideline reporter Josh Darrow said on the broadcast Fletcher was unable to put any weight on his foot and Fletcher was seen being carted off the field.

Miami has quality depth at running back and signed two players in the 2024 signing class, but Fletcher is viewed as the best option.

• Restrepo became only the sixth receiver in Miami history to record a 1,000-yard season with a leaping first quarter catch on Thursday. Restrepo led Miami with 11 catches for 99 yards on Thursday and 85 catches for 1,082 yards and six touchdowns for the season.

The other 1,000-yard receivers in Canes history: Charleston Rambo (2021, 79 catches, 1,172 yards), Allen Hurns (2013, 62 catches, 1,162 yards), Leonard Hankerson (2010, 72 catches, 1,156 yards), Andre Johnson (2002, 52 catches, 1,092 yards) and Eddie Brown (1984, 52 catches, 1,092 yards).

• Receiver Jacolby George had a bad finish to what had been a good regular season. He dropped Brown’s first pass of the day on a play that might’ve ended up in the end zone and was flagged for unnecessary roughness and called for holding. He had only two catches for 13 yards.

• Thursday’s loss marked the first time Rutgers beat Miami in football. The Hurricanes were 11-0 all-time against their former Big East rival.

(Photo: Mike Stobe / Getty Images)