Mario Cristobal confident Miami players will not buy into hype from people that were 'throwing dirt on them'
Now in his third year running the Miami Hurricanes program, it looks like head coach Mario Cristobal has the program ready to compete for the ACC and College Football Playoff. Naturally, with that has come plenty of praise from the outside looking in on the program.
Despite that praise, Cristobal is confident that the Miami players aren’t paying attention to it or buying into the hype because, as he explained, they know these were the same people who were being critical of the team.
“I don’t think much has to be said,” Mario Cristobal said. “They’re very well aware of the same people that are giving them praise and showering them with all the good stuff were the same ones throwing dirt on them when things were being built piece by piece.”
When Mario Cristobal got to Miami, he made the decision to completely rebuild the program in the image he wanted the program to become. With that, came a lot of up-and-down results on the field, and through two seasons under Cristobal, the program had a record of 12-13.
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In 2024, however, Miami started the season with a marquee win on the road over the Florida Gators. That was an incredibly impressive performance and it got people to buy into the Hurricanes this season. Since then, Miami has added a pair of easy wins and now, through three games, Miami has outscored its opponents 159-26.
“We really pay very little attention to that. We acknowledge it. We’re proud that we are being acknowledged, but it’s so in the back of any thought as it relates to our progress, to our drive, to our determination,” Cristobal said. “We just want to get to work. We just want to get better. We just want to go play football. We want to play the Miami Hurricane Standard, and we’ve got a lot of work to do to get there.”
A major part of why Miami has been able to find success is how Mario Cristobal handled the Transfer Portal. This offseason, he added several key players to supplement the roster. That included bringing in Cam Ward at quarterback to lead the offense. Since then, he’s been sensational and looks like a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Next up for Miami is a road trip to Tampa where the Hurricanes will play the USF Bulls out of the AAC. It’s going to be a step up in competition from Florida A&M and Ball State and one where Miami will need to stay focused to avoid an upset. From there, Miami will begin ACC play as the games become more important.