Manny Diaz made a grave recruiting mistake that Mario Cristobal had to pay for

The Miami Hurricanes had their season end in the most heartbreaking fashion on Monday Night, as the Indiana Hoosiers intercepted Carson Beck's final pass to seal the National Championship Game. The loss is especially heartbreaking for Mario Cristobal as he left Oregon to coach his alma mater, and came a few plays away from bringing glory back to Miami.

Mario Cristobal and the players will re-live this game, and think about all the things they could've done differently, likely for the rest of their lives. The fact of the matter is that Mario Cristobal was done in by a grave mistake by Manny Diaz.

Manny Diaz passing on Fernando Mendoza cost Miami

When you look at what decided the National Championship Game, the first place everyone is going to look is at the quarterbacks. Fernando Mendoza played like the Heisman Trophy winner, making every big play while Carson Beck made some mistakes and threw the game sealing interception.

In a different world, the Miami, FL native is wearing the Green and Orange, and may have even brought Miami back to glory. Coming out of High School, Fernando Mendoza wasn't highly recruited, and he looked to Miami, but Manny Diaz and his staff told the hometown kid that they may have taken him as a walk-on.

If Miami takes Fernando Mendoza, this season and maybe the past several seasons go wildly different. On one hand, Miami likely wouldn't have gotten Cam Ward's magical season, as they would've had Mendoza on the roster. However, refusing to take the hometown kid, and him using it in the National Championship to break Miami's hearts, is the perfect summary of the Manny Diaz era.

In the end, Mario Cristobal may end up getting the last laugh as Manny Diaz's quarterback at Duke Darian Mensah is in the Transfer Portal, and Miami is the rumored destination.