Mario Cristobal calls Lane Stadium 'a great environment'

Miami and Virginia Tech will meet this weekend in Blacksburg, Va., with both teams looking to snap three-game losing skids. Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal knows the Lane Stadium environment will be nothing to sneeze at, even though the Hokies fans haven’t had a ton to cheer about this season.

It can be one of the toughest places to play in college football.

“They’ve got a great atmosphere,” Cristobal said. “Lot of energy, lot of enthusiasm. They play great at home. Their defense causes a lot of issues and turnovers. Their special teams sets them up with great field position. And their offense is coming off one of their best games.”

The last time Miami traveled to Virginia Tech the Hurricanes were ranked No. 9 in the country. The Hokies were unranked. Yet it was Virginia Tech that walked away with a 25-24 win.

Cristobal wasn’t around for that one. And not that many of the Miami players he’s coaching in his first season in charge of the program were either.

The few who were will be responsible for getting everyone else ready for the experience on Saturday. It’ll be a group effort battling the hostile road environment at Lane Stadium.

“Great opportunity, great environment,” Cristobal said. “I think maybe 20% of this organization has been to Blacksburg and understands the magnitude of their environment and how awesome it is, and the rest have been informed so they understand that the way we prepare always relates to the opponent, the environment. So far it’s been a great week of practice.”

Miami using artificial noise to prepare for Lane Stadium environment

Like many teams, Miami is using simulated crowd noise in practice this week to prepare players for the Lane Stadium environment.

The good news is, as noted above, that Virginia Tech hasn’t been particularly good this season. That said, the team’s two wins so far this year have both come in the friendly confines of Lane Stadium.

So Cristobal wants his guys ready.

“Any time you enter an environment like this you practice with noise,” he said. “Even sometimes when you’re not playing in an environment like this you still practice anyway so it’s second nature by the time you get to it.”

Miami and Virginia Tech will kick off Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET. The game will be carried on ESPN+.