Here is a full transcript on what coach Mario Cristobal had to say to the media after following a 38-7 victory over the No. 22 team in the land versus the Pittsburgh Panthers:
Opening Statement...
Good afternoon, appreciate you guys being here. Really fired up. Proud of our team coming out there and playing the way they did. Thought we dominated from the beginning to the end and it kind of fits what we've been doing as a football program. We're playing our best and getting our healthiest year towards the end of the year. I know I think we might not have scored on our first try, but I think we scored our next five positions, if I'm not mistaken, the defense after the one score they allowed. Really a couple miscommunications just after that. After that, allowed a total of eight first downs. Again, just playing our best football right now and really physical, won the line of scrimmage, put pressure on their quarterback, forced them into some really difficult third down situations. I think there were four of 13. And everybody wanted to see how Miami would do in the cold weather on the road against the top 25 team, and I think we answered those questions very clearly.
What he would say to the committee about Miami's case...
I would say a lot. At the end of the day, it's not only do we pass the eye tests, we pass the field tests, right? Especially as it relates to playing this brand of football down the stretch and in head-to-head competition versus others that are being judged in the same little pool that we are as well. Plus, we're getting healthy, you know? No one ever talked about, the value of that in the middle of the season when we got, banged up with six, seven starters going down and now we're almost all the way back. Our quarterback is playing harder to compare to anybody else in the country playing the kind, the caliber of football that he's playing. Our defensive and offensive lines have been absolutely dominant and they showed it from game one all the way to game now, you know, forcing opponents to have their worst-rated performances against our fronts. So, I think all that stuff just, it speaks loudly. And again, it's not only the eye test, it's the field test.
Thoughts on the pass rush from the defensive line...
Physicality. I think it's worth mentioning also they ran the ball for a total of 30 yards. I know there's some, you know, subtracted yards there with sacks. But it starts with that, right? Making them as one-dimensional as we can. They're a really good football team. They're very well coached. They're very talented. They got a lot of good players and their quarterback is one of the best we've seen. We knew we were going to have to create pressure and penetration up front to disrupt them. Get them out of this rhythm. And we knew we were going to have to play some man coverage as well. So, just really proud of the effort. We had the one miscommunication during that one drive. But aside from that, I think that defense has put together as good of a resume as anybody in the country. And our offense is now doing the same thing as well. So, fun day. A lot of fun out there today. These guys came in. We were the most excited team on the field is what we felt.
Thoughts on Rueben Bain...
He's the best defensive player in college football, and I would say Akheem Mesidor is too. I would put them battling for it, to see who gets it. it's not just what he does on game, it's what he does the entire offseason, what he does leading up to the week of preparation and through the week. And he's just, he disrupts everything. You try to run the ball out of him, he's going to defeat blocks. You try to run away from him, he's going to chase you down. You try to double-team him, well, you better be secure in that, and you also are going to free up somebody else. And when you single-block him, he has so many different counters and pass rush moves and his capabilities that I can't say enough great things about him. And, you know, looking forward to playing some more football with these guys.
The message to the team moving forward...
Awesome job. That's the most important thing, is how proud we are of them, how we overcame some injuries to play our best football here down the stretch, when people want to, especially when people want to compare our results versus an opponent with other, you know, college playoff hopeful teams. The reality of everything they said they would do, they came out and did, and that they're excited. That's an excited bunch. They're celebrating. They're having a good time in there. They respect our opponent. They respect every opportunity we have, and we're looking forward to our next one.
Thoughts on Carson Beck pick...
It slipped out of his hand though. That wasn't like a throw he was trying to get there. That one slipped. That ball got a little bit slicked there at the end. And so... But he made up for it right after. And you know what? Also very important for CJ [Daniels] to get confidence in his... You know, he's coming back from injury, and again, he showed what he does. So I think that was very, very important to... You can't let a game end like that. Carson's played too well, the offense played too well, CJ's coming back from injury. They're moving the ball, they're trying to score, they're calling a timeout on defense, I ain't having that crap. You know what I mean? It's our job to go play as well as we can.
Thoughts on Malachi Toney breaking freshman receiving yards record...
Are you surprised? Nobody else is, right? All year long, his dedication, his natural talent, and his game-day approach and performances have been absolutely awesome. He's let's just getting started. There isn't a better freshman in the country. There might not be a better and more exciting player in the country right now than Malachi Toney. And, he's fun to be around. He does it all. Got another touchdown pass, right? He beat Carson on his QBR today.
On Toney being the vocal point of the offense...
He's a really hard guy to defend, offensively, we could move pieces around. it's not like cookie-cutter, the slot's always here and X is always there. We did a lot of things over the last several weeks. You know, we had a lot of tackle-over formations. We had Alex Bauman a big game today, both blocking and receiving. Keelan [Marion] continues to play really high-level football. A really big catch, Mark [Fletcher], [Girard] Pringle, Marty [Brown]. All those guys had really good runs. Great check down on Marty as well. In this offense, I'm looking at the guys, you know, Pringle, Fletcher, Tony, Brown, Bauman, Daniels, Marion. I mean, it keeps going on and on, the guys that touched the ball today. So, I know it was a question that was very different than the answer it's supposed to give you. The hot hand, right? When the hand is hot, you got to get into it.
On Jakobe Thomas...
He loves to hit. He was made for football. I mean, that guy lives for collisions, and he's a great tackler. He came here, we needed an enforcer back there. We needed a guy to come to Miami and really set the tone, like so many great safeties that have been through this program before, and Jakobe Thomas has not disappointed. In fact, he's been awesome. He's excelled. He's a great teammate. He's a hard worker. Looking forward to playing more football with him.
Opening Statement...
Good afternoon, appreciate you guys being here. Really fired up. Proud of our team coming out there and playing the way they did. Thought we dominated from the beginning to the end and it kind of fits what we've been doing as a football program. We're playing our best and getting our healthiest year towards the end of the year. I know I think we might not have scored on our first try, but I think we scored our next five positions, if I'm not mistaken, the defense after the one score they allowed. Really a couple miscommunications just after that. After that, allowed a total of eight first downs. Again, just playing our best football right now and really physical, won the line of scrimmage, put pressure on their quarterback, forced them into some really difficult third down situations. I think there were four of 13. And everybody wanted to see how Miami would do in the cold weather on the road against the top 25 team, and I think we answered those questions very clearly.
What he would say to the committee about Miami's case...
I would say a lot. At the end of the day, it's not only do we pass the eye tests, we pass the field tests, right? Especially as it relates to playing this brand of football down the stretch and in head-to-head competition versus others that are being judged in the same little pool that we are as well. Plus, we're getting healthy, you know? No one ever talked about, the value of that in the middle of the season when we got, banged up with six, seven starters going down and now we're almost all the way back. Our quarterback is playing harder to compare to anybody else in the country playing the kind, the caliber of football that he's playing. Our defensive and offensive lines have been absolutely dominant and they showed it from game one all the way to game now, you know, forcing opponents to have their worst-rated performances against our fronts. So, I think all that stuff just, it speaks loudly. And again, it's not only the eye test, it's the field test.
Thoughts on the pass rush from the defensive line...
Physicality. I think it's worth mentioning also they ran the ball for a total of 30 yards. I know there's some, you know, subtracted yards there with sacks. But it starts with that, right? Making them as one-dimensional as we can. They're a really good football team. They're very well coached. They're very talented. They got a lot of good players and their quarterback is one of the best we've seen. We knew we were going to have to create pressure and penetration up front to disrupt them. Get them out of this rhythm. And we knew we were going to have to play some man coverage as well. So, just really proud of the effort. We had the one miscommunication during that one drive. But aside from that, I think that defense has put together as good of a resume as anybody in the country. And our offense is now doing the same thing as well. So, fun day. A lot of fun out there today. These guys came in. We were the most excited team on the field is what we felt.
Thoughts on Rueben Bain...
He's the best defensive player in college football, and I would say Akheem Mesidor is too. I would put them battling for it, to see who gets it. it's not just what he does on game, it's what he does the entire offseason, what he does leading up to the week of preparation and through the week. And he's just, he disrupts everything. You try to run the ball out of him, he's going to defeat blocks. You try to run away from him, he's going to chase you down. You try to double-team him, well, you better be secure in that, and you also are going to free up somebody else. And when you single-block him, he has so many different counters and pass rush moves and his capabilities that I can't say enough great things about him. And, you know, looking forward to playing some more football with these guys.
The message to the team moving forward...
Awesome job. That's the most important thing, is how proud we are of them, how we overcame some injuries to play our best football here down the stretch, when people want to, especially when people want to compare our results versus an opponent with other, you know, college playoff hopeful teams. The reality of everything they said they would do, they came out and did, and that they're excited. That's an excited bunch. They're celebrating. They're having a good time in there. They respect our opponent. They respect every opportunity we have, and we're looking forward to our next one.
Thoughts on Carson Beck pick...
It slipped out of his hand though. That wasn't like a throw he was trying to get there. That one slipped. That ball got a little bit slicked there at the end. And so... But he made up for it right after. And you know what? Also very important for CJ [Daniels] to get confidence in his... You know, he's coming back from injury, and again, he showed what he does. So I think that was very, very important to... You can't let a game end like that. Carson's played too well, the offense played too well, CJ's coming back from injury. They're moving the ball, they're trying to score, they're calling a timeout on defense, I ain't having that crap. You know what I mean? It's our job to go play as well as we can.
Thoughts on Malachi Toney breaking freshman receiving yards record...
Are you surprised? Nobody else is, right? All year long, his dedication, his natural talent, and his game-day approach and performances have been absolutely awesome. He's let's just getting started. There isn't a better freshman in the country. There might not be a better and more exciting player in the country right now than Malachi Toney. And, he's fun to be around. He does it all. Got another touchdown pass, right? He beat Carson on his QBR today.
On Toney being the vocal point of the offense...
He's a really hard guy to defend, offensively, we could move pieces around. it's not like cookie-cutter, the slot's always here and X is always there. We did a lot of things over the last several weeks. You know, we had a lot of tackle-over formations. We had Alex Bauman a big game today, both blocking and receiving. Keelan [Marion] continues to play really high-level football. A really big catch, Mark [Fletcher], [Girard] Pringle, Marty [Brown]. All those guys had really good runs. Great check down on Marty as well. In this offense, I'm looking at the guys, you know, Pringle, Fletcher, Tony, Brown, Bauman, Daniels, Marion. I mean, it keeps going on and on, the guys that touched the ball today. So, I know it was a question that was very different than the answer it's supposed to give you. The hot hand, right? When the hand is hot, you got to get into it.
On Jakobe Thomas...
He loves to hit. He was made for football. I mean, that guy lives for collisions, and he's a great tackler. He came here, we needed an enforcer back there. We needed a guy to come to Miami and really set the tone, like so many great safeties that have been through this program before, and Jakobe Thomas has not disappointed. In fact, he's been awesome. He's excelled. He's a great teammate. He's a hard worker. Looking forward to playing more football with him.
