Mario Cristobal reveals biggest issue from Middle Tennessee loss

In his first season at Miami, things looked promising for Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes. Then, they lost to Texas A&M and Middle Tennessee State. That second loss, in particular, has been difficult for Miami fans to understand and stomach. However, for Cristobal, there is a lesson that the team can take away from that loss.

While speaking to the media, Mario Cristobal was asked if there was a common thread that led to issues against Middle Tennessee State on the defensive side of the ball.

“Well, there were four plays that result in about 315+ yards,” Mario Cristobal said. “Explosive plays hurt us.”

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“Now, offensively, we put our defense in situations that weren’t great and we did do a pretty good job, but explosive plays are typically the result of an offense making a big play or a bust on defense. Right, so you saw, you know, things I don’t know if things have to be rehashed in terms of alright, whether a guy got beat, whether we didn’t communicate well enough. I mean, same stuff. It hasn’t changed in two weeks in terms of what actually happened.”

Mario Cristobal the pointed out that knowing these problems isn’t enough. They need to be addressed in practice too. Otherwise, Miami will only continue to make those mistakes.

“More importantly is what have we done going forward to address that and again assessing it and attacking it with practice, with a plan, a form of communication, technique work, scheme work, ways to help our guys be in situations where they can be successful has been the answer in the approach for us,” Mario Cristobal said.

Miami’s next game is going to come against North Carolina on October 8th.

Miami is prepping for North Carolina’s passing attack

Miami is going to need to figure out how to stop big plays quickly. Next up for the Hurricanes is the North Carolina Tar Heels. With Drake Maye, North Carolina has an explosive offensive attack that could take advantage of Miami’s defense.

“[Drake Maye] gets the ball out quick. He extends drives not only with his arm. He sees the field very well. Tall guy gets the ball out on time, gets it out before time. So the pass rush doesn’t affect him much. But he knows where to go with the ball. And if protection breaks down, he’s extended plays,” Mario Cristobal said.

“Made some unbelievable throws and he’s also done a great job with his legs, you know. They’ve run quarterback draw so many different ways. And he’s a long, athletic body and he throws his body around. You saw him over there close to the goal line, going up and, you know, just about doing everything possible to move the sticks. So an excellent football player and one that we have to be at our best to defend.”