Here is everything Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal said after the 31-27 semifinals win over the Ole Miss Rebels to punch Miami's ticket to the National Championship:
Opening statement...
Well, guys, thank you for being here. Apologize for the long delay, but obviously
a lot of really enthused people out there. Really proud of our entire organization, first and foremost the players. First and foremost, thank God for this opportunity and being able to come out with a 1-0. Again, it starts with these guys right here and their teammates. But a lot to cover. I would rather you guys ask the questions and get what you want. Really appreciate your time and thank you for waiting.
Q. Mario, that last touchdown drive, does that kind of sum up your year, what you have been
trying to accomplish here at Miami? That no matter what's going on, somehow, someway you're
going to persevere after Ole Miss went up late for that last touchdown drive.
I think it's more a reflection of our players and their DNA and the way that they're wired, how they came into the program and how they've continued to develop and evolve. So it almost seems like the tougher it gets, the better we play. And it's a testament to them, to their resilience, and their will.
Q. You talked about the resilience. This game was kind of like a resemblance of what y'all were
going through in the middle of October and early November. Just penalties, kind of consistently
bad plays, but you overcame it. What really took, in those moments leading up to that, to get
that consistency and just that resilience with your team?
Honestly, football isn't complicated; people are. When you start jumping offsides and you get some of these pre-snap penalties, you complicate things for yourself. I think it's the simplicity of these guys. They know exactly who they are, and they know what it took to get us to this point and they were not settling for getting to this point just to get here. 1-0 was the objective. They weren't going to let anything get in the way. So all they did was do what they do every single day on the Greentree Practice Field and did it to an elite level to finish the game. Again, I can't speak more highly or proudly enough of them and their resilience
Q. Mario, congrats on the win again. Talk a little bit about being the last at-large seed in this
thing, a little bit about the format. What do you think this says about this team making it all the
way, and just about the format, all the things you guys had to overcome here?
It's the simplicity of how we just let our play on the field take care of itself, and answer any and all questions. I know a lot of times, I think narratives take over -- I don't know, popularity, social, the media in general. And this game has never been about that. I think these guys proved that, that after November 1st -- 69 days ago, I think is what it was -- they made a simple decision to bring energy every single day into the building and just get a little bit better and find a way to be 1-0. We haven't been home in a long time. We've been on the road for five straight games. And it's because of their work, their commitment, their belief, and their trust, and the confidence they have in each other.
Q. Mario, Carson [Beck] on third down, if that's an incompletion, had you made up your mind if you were going to go for the touchdown to win? Or would you send it into overtime?
On second down. We had two timeouts when we had first and goal. We used one after the first down. So on second down, we elected to pass. That's a scenario we go over a lot as a staff. If you do that, and let's say you don't have anybody open, you can just sail the ball out of bounds. And then on third down, the defense has to defend both the run and the pass. Again, we as a staff really study those situations a bunch. We obviously trust our players, either way to do it. But it was the right way to strategically attack the opponent and give ourselves the best opportunity for the best look to score.
Q. Coach Cristobal, can you talk about how much Mark [Fletcher] has meant to this program,
being a local guy, a guy you kept home?
When I was recruiting him, I think I had 247 unreturned text messages from Mark Fletcher when he was committed to another school. So I'm glad we kept at it. He was always a super special person throughout the recruiting process. He became the heart and soul of this team. An unbelievable family. He is a reflection of his family on a daily basis and what he brings to the table. I don't know where you start. The reason you want to be a coach is you want to be able to somehow be around such elite human beings like this. So we're going to get better, and we still have a lot of work to do. That's what we're looking forward to.
Q. Coach, I spoke with Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Edgerrin James after the game, they
were just so excited about you guys and this program. Can you just talk about having them
around? They said it was important for them to come around because guys showed up for
them. Can you just talk about the importance of those guys showing? If any of you guys want
to talk about seeing those guys on the sideline, does that really kind of give you guys some
juice and some pride in knowing those guys are showing up for you? It's important for them to
show up for you guys.
I was a graduate assistant coach when those guys were freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, and saw how hard they worked to get Miami on track back then. So seeing guys like that, seeing guys that maybe weren't popular and big names back in the day, just seeing our alumni around is awesome for them, because a lot of these guys grew up watching some of these guys, or saw some of the highlights of them, because it's been so long. Again, we're the tightest -- we pride ourselves of being the best brotherhood in college football. I know these guys appreciate it.
Q. Mario, kind of like what I asked Carson [Beck], prior to two years ago when the 12-team
playoff started, this team would not even have gotten a chance to compete for a national
championship. What has this been like, your first experience with this bigger playoff, that your
team gets that shot at the 11th hour, and now having taken advantage of it and shown people
how good this team really is.
I think it's a reflection of how awesome this sport is, how teams have the opportunity to get better as the year goes on, how young players get to develop, veteran players have a chance to become leaders. All of a sudden, you have a different dynamic in the middle of a season and then down the stretch. It carries you into the playoffs. You got to get hot at the right time, and things could be pretty interesting in a hurry. Football is about settling it on the field, right? The more we can give teams an opportunity to do that, I think it makes the sport better.
Opening statement...
Well, guys, thank you for being here. Apologize for the long delay, but obviously
a lot of really enthused people out there. Really proud of our entire organization, first and foremost the players. First and foremost, thank God for this opportunity and being able to come out with a 1-0. Again, it starts with these guys right here and their teammates. But a lot to cover. I would rather you guys ask the questions and get what you want. Really appreciate your time and thank you for waiting.
Q. Mario, that last touchdown drive, does that kind of sum up your year, what you have been
trying to accomplish here at Miami? That no matter what's going on, somehow, someway you're
going to persevere after Ole Miss went up late for that last touchdown drive.
I think it's more a reflection of our players and their DNA and the way that they're wired, how they came into the program and how they've continued to develop and evolve. So it almost seems like the tougher it gets, the better we play. And it's a testament to them, to their resilience, and their will.
Q. You talked about the resilience. This game was kind of like a resemblance of what y'all were
going through in the middle of October and early November. Just penalties, kind of consistently
bad plays, but you overcame it. What really took, in those moments leading up to that, to get
that consistency and just that resilience with your team?
Honestly, football isn't complicated; people are. When you start jumping offsides and you get some of these pre-snap penalties, you complicate things for yourself. I think it's the simplicity of these guys. They know exactly who they are, and they know what it took to get us to this point and they were not settling for getting to this point just to get here. 1-0 was the objective. They weren't going to let anything get in the way. So all they did was do what they do every single day on the Greentree Practice Field and did it to an elite level to finish the game. Again, I can't speak more highly or proudly enough of them and their resilience
Q. Mario, congrats on the win again. Talk a little bit about being the last at-large seed in this
thing, a little bit about the format. What do you think this says about this team making it all the
way, and just about the format, all the things you guys had to overcome here?
It's the simplicity of how we just let our play on the field take care of itself, and answer any and all questions. I know a lot of times, I think narratives take over -- I don't know, popularity, social, the media in general. And this game has never been about that. I think these guys proved that, that after November 1st -- 69 days ago, I think is what it was -- they made a simple decision to bring energy every single day into the building and just get a little bit better and find a way to be 1-0. We haven't been home in a long time. We've been on the road for five straight games. And it's because of their work, their commitment, their belief, and their trust, and the confidence they have in each other.
Q. Mario, Carson [Beck] on third down, if that's an incompletion, had you made up your mind if you were going to go for the touchdown to win? Or would you send it into overtime?
On second down. We had two timeouts when we had first and goal. We used one after the first down. So on second down, we elected to pass. That's a scenario we go over a lot as a staff. If you do that, and let's say you don't have anybody open, you can just sail the ball out of bounds. And then on third down, the defense has to defend both the run and the pass. Again, we as a staff really study those situations a bunch. We obviously trust our players, either way to do it. But it was the right way to strategically attack the opponent and give ourselves the best opportunity for the best look to score.
Q. Coach Cristobal, can you talk about how much Mark [Fletcher] has meant to this program,
being a local guy, a guy you kept home?
When I was recruiting him, I think I had 247 unreturned text messages from Mark Fletcher when he was committed to another school. So I'm glad we kept at it. He was always a super special person throughout the recruiting process. He became the heart and soul of this team. An unbelievable family. He is a reflection of his family on a daily basis and what he brings to the table. I don't know where you start. The reason you want to be a coach is you want to be able to somehow be around such elite human beings like this. So we're going to get better, and we still have a lot of work to do. That's what we're looking forward to.
Q. Coach, I spoke with Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Edgerrin James after the game, they
were just so excited about you guys and this program. Can you just talk about having them
around? They said it was important for them to come around because guys showed up for
them. Can you just talk about the importance of those guys showing? If any of you guys want
to talk about seeing those guys on the sideline, does that really kind of give you guys some
juice and some pride in knowing those guys are showing up for you? It's important for them to
show up for you guys.
I was a graduate assistant coach when those guys were freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, and saw how hard they worked to get Miami on track back then. So seeing guys like that, seeing guys that maybe weren't popular and big names back in the day, just seeing our alumni around is awesome for them, because a lot of these guys grew up watching some of these guys, or saw some of the highlights of them, because it's been so long. Again, we're the tightest -- we pride ourselves of being the best brotherhood in college football. I know these guys appreciate it.
Q. Mario, kind of like what I asked Carson [Beck], prior to two years ago when the 12-team
playoff started, this team would not even have gotten a chance to compete for a national
championship. What has this been like, your first experience with this bigger playoff, that your
team gets that shot at the 11th hour, and now having taken advantage of it and shown people
how good this team really is.
I think it's a reflection of how awesome this sport is, how teams have the opportunity to get better as the year goes on, how young players get to develop, veteran players have a chance to become leaders. All of a sudden, you have a different dynamic in the middle of a season and then down the stretch. It carries you into the playoffs. You got to get hot at the right time, and things could be pretty interesting in a hurry. Football is about settling it on the field, right? The more we can give teams an opportunity to do that, I think it makes the sport better.
