Mario Cristobal shuts down question about getting multiple players playing time against lesser opponent

After a huge win over Texas A&M, head coach Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes have a quick turnaround this week. On Thursday, Miami will play host to Bethune-Cookman.

The game is expected to be an easy one for Miami. It’s in these games that coaches often like to get younger players more experience in games with live action. In a press conference early in the week, Cristobal was asked about the potential for getting as many guys in as possible against the Wildcats.

However, Cristobal took issue with the question, shooting it down and saying that he thought it was disrespectful.

“I would never answer a question like that,” Mario Cristobal said. “I think that’s disrespectful to football and to other teams. We’re looking forward to a great opportunity Thursday.”

Cristobal clearly doesn’t want to assume anything, including an easy win against an FCS school. He also clearly wants to show more respect to his opponent than to openly talk about getting younger players playing time before the game even begins.

At the same time, it would be a surprise if Miami doesn’t come away from this with a relatively easy win. The Hurricanes and Wildcats met in 2022, with Miami winning 70-13. That was a Miami team that went just 5-7 on the season. So, this team that is widely seen as better than last year’s shouldn’t struggle too much.

To this point, Bethune-Cookman is 1-1, with its loss coming against Memphis.

Tyler Van Dyke on what the Texas A&M win meant to Miami

After beating Texas A&M, quarterback Tyler Van Dyke reflected on the game and what it meant for the Miami program.

“It means a lot. It shows how hard we’ve worked this offseason. It shows how this is a player-led team. All the leaders came together, told each other, ‘This is not happening again. We’re not being 5-7. We’re gonna fight through adversity and win those games,’” Van Dyke said.

“I think tonight was the first step in showing the world what we have to prove. 10 more games, so this is only the beginning.”

This was also a win that Tyler Van Dyke doesn’t think was possible last season. In fact, he thinks that last season’s team wouldn’t have been able to fight through adversity after a couple of early special teams mistakes put them behind the eight ball.

“I think last year we would have quit, honestly. We’re a totally different team. The leaders stepped up. The players stepped up. Held each other accountable the entire offseason to tell each other we can’t give up in big games like this,” Van Dyke said.

“We just fought, even with the muffed punt and the blocked punt, and when we were down 10-0 early. The way we fought through adversity, that’s something we really wanted to work on this year, and that was a perfect moment for that to happen, and we fought through it.”