Everything Mario Cristobal Said Before Final Home Game Of The Season
Luckily for No. 11 Miami they had a bye week after another failed attempt to proval against Brent Key's Georiga Tech Yellow Jackets.
The Hurricanes still control their own destiny as long as they win the remaining two games of the season first starting with Wake Forest.
How to Watch: Wake Forest at No. 11 Miami, Full Week 13 TV Schedule
Head coach Mario Cristobal knows what is on the line this week even and the rest of the season but still has the "1-0" mindset as he spoke for the first time since the loss:
Opening Statement…
"Thanks for being here. Certainly coming off the bye week, a week of some really good work, getting some guys healed up a little bit. We're nursing and some injuries and just really working hard as a staff to improve every aspect of our program as we head into our final home game. 27 seniors that will be honored, conference game, most important game of the year, and the great opportunity against a really good football team that's got some good players and is very well coached."
On the 1-0 mentality of the team...
"I think any day that we're coaching, it's going to be the same thing. There's too much going on in the outside world, there's too much clutter, there's too much coverage and hype and noise to really do anything else but make sure your guys are focused on the task at hand and even streamlining it even more--the practice at hand, the meeting that you're about to walk into, the walkthrough, that you're taking part in. So without a doubt, it's been emphasized, we're going to continue along the lines of that, and that's not going to change."
On getting players back from injury...
"We did get healed up. You know, some guys were banged up a little bit. I'm sure everybody's asking about Damari [Brown] and Ryan [Rodriguez], Elijah Alston. Those guys are all really close. Will be a game time decision. Feel good about them joining us, either this weekend or next weekend, but they're cleared, and they're practicing, so it's going to be real close, and in a positive way. We want to make sure that if they're out there, they're performing at a high level, that it's not just plug in."
On the prep time ahead of Wake Forest with a bye week...
"Ten days out. Any opponent, whether it be camp, even though you do some you do your recon, you do all your game planning and your assessment and breakdowns early, you start actually doing the physical stuff where the team knows you're actually doing it ten days out. We do the same thing in camp. So we do have a couple of extra days on them, and certainly now they're unique in a couple different ways. So it's been very helpful."
On how CB Damari Brown has handled the injury mentally...
"I think it's helped him come out of his shell a little bit. Because Damari--number one, he comes from a great family, but he's very reserved in a good way, just very focused, takes care of his business. And when you go through something like that, you find yourself, you know, you have to be engaged in different ways, and we don't allow guys to isolate during injury time. That's the worst thing you could do for players. Let him kind of drift off and get his own mental space. It's never good. So you've seen him just develop, just from a personality standpoint, engagement standpoint. He looks great. I mean, this is a big week for him because the reps will be taken, and the work he'll be doing is as close to, you know, game play as it could possibly be. So we're working hard to get him ready. He's working hard to get himself ready. So is Ryan and so is Elijah."
On WR Xavier Restrepo and what he means to the program...
"Well, I think it's it's mutual. He means the world of the program, and the program means the world to him. He is the epitome of hard work. I think he's grown up a ton. That's the biggest thing, the maturity levels of X, over the past eight, nine, ten months, being all about team and making sure that he does everything possible to affect teammates has really been just incredibly, just awesome to watch. And you know, obviously he's going to play a long time. He's a really good football player, but he and these other guys, they've everything that we are looking at and focus on is Wake Forest. All the personal accolades, goals and everything else, I think for him, for the rest of the guys, they all take a back seat, and it'll be the theme of the press conference and everything else we do, man. We're focused on one thing and one thing only, and that's the way it should be."
On the senior class...
"Always the most valuable part. They're the core. And they have an experience that's very unique. I'm talking about the guys that have been here for a little bit. They've seen change, they've endured hardship, they've seen some tough times. They've gone through struggles. I mean, it's an education that is priceless. The class that just walked in has had a very different path, and I would say educational piece to their development as compared to the ones that we're talking about. The guys like Elijah Arroyo and guys like Xavier Restrepo. Guys that have been here and still, you know, some have time, some don't, but it's it's really unique, what they've done, what they've gone through, and I think it's made them more callous, in a good way, certainly has grown their resilience and has helped others understand the importance and their urgency as it relates to every day right? As it relates to every part of your preparation, as it relates to, you know, everything 1-0."
On kicker Andres Borregales...
"Well, we've stated on several occasions how valuable he is. Maybe not enough. Honestly, he really is. We feel he's the very best in the country. He's developed as a leader. He's really changed his body. That's one of the things that's going to propel him to having a great game on Saturday, and the other games coming up, and then later on in life. But yeah, a guy like that, the confidence levels in him is, you almost try to test him every single week, and we do, and he comes through. Incredible young man. A lot of football to play here in 2024. So looking forward to Saturday."
On how the team has responded to adversity...
"I think everybody's behind the way we go and about our way here. I don't think you change who you are and your approach to football. I don't think you as a coach all of a sudden want to change your intensity levels and try to be macho, tough guy. We go hard and we're intense and we're physical and we don't fake. We don't like fakes, we don't like phonies. We don't like BS. We like real deal, people that get after it. Like hard asses--pardon of my language. And I think this team, the staff took that loss hard. Wo without getting into any of the generic, what do you say? Wake up calls, all those taglines and whatnot. It increases your awareness of the fact that college football is difficult. Winning is difficult, and that when you have 10 games, 11 games on tape, if you have things that you need to correct, and you're not all the way there. You're going to get hit on that week after week. So that's why the bye week has been so valuable. We've had time to work on communication number one, which is critically important, alignments and assignment. All those things done well, provide confidence. Let you play fast, let you play hard. And we've had to do a better job coaching it. I think we have. Players have done a better job learning it. I think they have. And we're looking forward to putting that to action on Saturday."
On whether he likes two bye weeks...
"I do. It's a long season. It's not like the NFL. I know there's a lot of talk about roster size changes and everything else and people say, 'Well, the NFL has, I don't even, I'm not even follow the NFL. I guess, 53 man roster, 46 on Sundays and a practice roster. But if you look at the year for an NFL team, they cycle through 120 plus players, and it's ready-made, players as players on the on the waiver wire, right? That have played football, that have had played multiple years of football, that understand the game--technique, fundamentals. And in college football, you don't because 30 plus of those guys are new guys, that are learning systems, that are learning processes. So it's the value of the repetition, the value of time invested getting guys in play, experience on your roster--it's monumental. You know, it's about as important as it gets."
On the challenges that Wake Forest presents...
"I think it starts up front. I think they play with great technique. They play with great pad level. They're unique in their technique too. They're quick. The quick swim, the butt press, separation, the stunning the stemming, pre-snap stemming, get you to change your line calls, the involvement of their secondary, particular safeties in the run game, to change the box count, to change the leverages, to change the picture. The way they've done a really good job on the back end, taken away certain route concepts against certain teams. They're very diligent in their studies and in changing what they do week to week as it relates to opponents. Like they really do a good job of taking away what a team does best, and they're complimented by an offense that, and they're another top 25 in terms of moving the sticks, of getting first downs. So you look at so many of their games go deep into the fourth quarter, or somewhere in the fourth quarter, and it's a one-possession game. That's due to the fact they play very good complimentary football, but it starts up front, you know, and I think their defensive line. They're very well coached. They got a couple of really disruptive players with a lot of statistical data to back that up. But what stands out to me and to our players? When you ask our players, what stands out right away, they all say, they play really hard. They play the game the right way."
On being two games away from playing in the ACC title game...
"Well, we set so many goals at the beginning of the season, and I think those goals are always something that's there, it's in the background. It's a driving force. But we all of our focus and all of our talk, the vibe in the building is one that's really energetic and strong as it relates to the opponent at hand. I think anything any thought outside of that, especially if you study Miami and Miami football throughout the last 20 years, there's been opportunities heading in the latter part of the season, and for whatever reason, it tailed off or didn't quite work out. So we'd like to prevent any avoidable mistakes or mishaps by making sure that we're focused on the task at hand, and right now, that's tomorrow's practice and Wake Forest."
On Wake Forest HC Dave Clawson...
"Well, I had the ultimate respect for Dave Clawson. I'll tell you why. When I was a [graduate assistant] at Rutgers, the first interview I ever sat in on was coach Clawson, and I was blown away by his knowledge. How articulate he was, how detailed he was, how knowledgeable he was, and watched his career just grow and take off from there. He's one of those guys that, throughout the last several years, has been one of those sought-after names and he's proven his commitment loyalty to his program, not only with, his tenure and whatnot, but with results. I mean, he's won some massive games there, the biggest games maybe they've ever won in program history. And they've always had great teams, and they have a good football team that's fallen short a couple times, but has been right there and capable of winning every single one of those games. So a ton of respect for him. I know him personally a little bit, but certainly his body of work speaks volumes."
On the importance of closing out the home schedule undefeated...
"That's strong. It'd be a strong statement. You have so many goals that you talk about in when the season starts. And certainly that's one of them. You always want to make your home place a tough place to play. And the beauty of it, it ties in directly to the ultimate goal, being 1-0 on Saturday. This one just happens to be the last one at Hard Rock and you know what? Our fans have done a great job all year at home and away traveling, and we want to make sure that that they feel it. That they continue to feel tighter and a stronger bond to us, to the Miami hurricane football program, because I think they're starting to get to know our guys. They're starting to get to know our people, our personalities. I mean, you've got local guys that have been stars in the community since they've been this tall, and you got guys coming from all over the country that have made themselves very just big names for themselves here, and they've taken in the city as much as the city's taken them. And so we're very proud to represent the city in the community. And yeah,it does. It means a ton to us, you know, but I'm just gonna keep doing the same thing--back to Wake Forest."
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