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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
The U Is Back: Miami Breaks Top 10 Skid in Mario Cristobal’s Statement Win
For the first time since 2017, the Hurricanes beat a top team, showing speed, power and swagger reminiscent of their glory days.
www.si.com
The U Is Back: Miami Breaks Top 10 Skid in Mario Cristobal’s Statement Win
For the first time since 2017, the Hurricanes beat a top team, showing speed, power and swagger reminiscent of their glory days.
A few months into his tenure at Miami, Mario Cristobal pitched a vision for the program to a slew of high-profile recruits.
The foundation of one of the most dominant forces of the last 40 years in college football was almost nonexistent. The Hurricanes produced just a single draft pick that spring, a seventh-rounder who failed to play a down in the NFL that year. Miami came up short in big games with questionable quarterback play and talent that never fully developed.
Cristobal sold like he never sold before. Despite a handful of fleeting moments of glory in the past two decades, The U was going to return to its proper place in the sport’s pecking order and he knew just how it was going to happen.
“I remember sitting outside of Hard Rock with Rueben Bain and a bunch of other guys,” Cristobal said. “You know, our starting point was very low so we’re getting our butts kicked all over the place. … I just said, Stick with us. Give the Canes a shot at the end. We will be playing in those big-time games and looking like what Miami should look like.”
On Sunday night, that vision finally became reality as No. 10 Miami beat No. 6 Notre Dame 27–24, the Hurricanes’ first Top 10 win since 2017.
The Hurricanes were fast, with the skill-position players darting all over the field from impressive freshman receiver Malachi Toney (team-high six catches for 82 yards and a touchdown) to potential first-round pick Bain crashing down off the edge for any number of quarterback pressures.
They were physical, with an offensive line built up and mauling—carrying running back Marty Brown into the end zone with a rugby scrum in the first half.
They also showed off the trademark swagger, forcing two turnovers to keep the recent College Football Playoff runners-up on their heels and break a streak of eight straight losses against teams ranked in the Top 10.
“That was a muddy and bloody night,” Cristobal said. “I mean, all night, that thing was like Rock ’Em, Sock ’Em Robots.”
That old-school reference was apt on a night where nostalgia enveloped the stadium. Catholics vs. Convicts shirts dotted the flooded parking lots. Leprechauns quite literally danced around muddy puddles. Jimmy Johnson fired up the record crowd of 66,793 just before kickoff by sounding the Hurricanes siren while Jim Kelly, Michael Irvin and Ray Lewis were among the slew of Hall of Famers in attendance constantly shown throwing up The U.
This was the type of environment Cristobal wanted. It appears he finally has a team capable of making it a regular occurrence.
“It’s been a long process that we had been trying to get the team to where we are now,” Bain said. “Really seeing how we grew, it means so much.”
The most noticeable difference showed up on defense, which has been significantly revamped under new coordinator Corey Hetherman. Miami was tied for last in the ACC in plays of 50 or more yards allowed last season but gave up only one on Sunday, a coverage bust that Irish tight end Eli Raridon took 65 yards into the red zone to set up a fourth-quarter touchdown.
The Hurricanes also allowed over 31 points per game down the stretch last season, coinciding with a 1–3 slide that kept them out of the ACC championship game and the CFP. Notre Dame came in well under that mark. Miami also clamped down on star tailback Jeremiyah Love (14 touches, 59 total yards) and harassed new starting quarterback CJ Carr out of the pocket often to hold him to 221 yards passing and two touchdowns. He also had a hand in both of his team’s turnovers.
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Just sayin': Catholics 24 - Convicts 27, it's too bad they both couldn't have lost.
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The only thing that kept that "revamped" defense from getting shredded last night was a very pedestrian ND offense.
"we're back"...
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"we're back"...
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