Everything Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal Said After Nail Biting Win Against Virginia Tech
A nail bitting end for No. 7 Miami as they pick up a close victory against Virginia Tech 38-34 to remain undefeated.
The key to this game came down to coaching as Mario Cristobal just didn't make as many mistakes as Hokies head coach Brent Pry created to many mistakes for his team to overcome.
Cristobal took to the podium after the game to speak to the media following the thrilling finish.
Opening Statement…
Good evening. I appreciate you guys hanging in and waiting up. Obviously, a tremendous game and one [where] we overcame a lot of stuff, a lot of self-inflicted issues to find a way to pull it out. They are a really good football team. Their quarterback is a dynamic player and he played that way today. I know he had his struggles leading into this one and, certainly, it wasn’t our best performance but, when you play in conference, we tell our guys all the time, expect it to be playoff football because that is what you are going to get. I’m proud of the way that we just kept fighting even when we were two scores down and got behind two scores again.
On the final play of the game…
I saw an incomplete pass. That’s all I can say.
On lessons from the game…
There’s a lot to learn off this film. It’s one of those days where you are fortunate enough where you can learn a lot of your lessons without having to suffer the consequence of a loss. We turned the ball over uncharacteristically. We had some pressure on our own quarterback. We had about five guys go down on defense. A lot of guys had to step up and some were ready and some battled hard but not quite as ready as those front-line guys. I thought we lacked a little juice early on, so we’ve got to look at the week of preparation. We thought we were very well-prepared. Practices were good. We gave enough rest and practice balance time. But a lot of credit to just the resiliency of the team because that one field goal before halftime was invaluable. To come back and then go down by 10 points and come back and score again just kept us in it and fighting. And then finally, that three and out before the offense took the ball and went down the field and scored, that was ultimately the difference in the football game. [There’s] a lot of stuff that we need to clean up, but certainly a lot of stuff to be proud of as well.
On how the team battled…
If you could somehow orchestrate a game like this where you can grow and learn and still get a win, you’d love to do that, but there’s no way to do that. Sometimes, you’ve got to go through it. Some of today’s back and forth stuff, again, we caused it. But look, that could be a locker room with an L right now and it’d be a lot worse. We found a way to win. I could sit here and talk about a billion things that we could have done better. I just don’t want to do that. I want to focus on the fact that this team, probably, over the last 20 years lost a game like this. This team found a way to win, so they can take that however they want. I’m proud of the effort. I’m not proud of the way we coached and played but sometimes you’ve just got to find a way to get a W and we found a way to get it.
On the emotions waiting for the final play review…
Liability issues that come with that, with the cardiac condition of everybody on the sideline, I’m sure. It’s wild. [In] college football, you’re never all the way clear and easy to win a game, you’re never all the way out of it. It just keeps going. We did talk about it that you don’t leave a game like this in the hands of the officials because you might be disappointed. At the end of the day, we just found a way to win.
On comparison between this team and the early 2000s teams…
I think it’s a year where a ton of progress has been made and a ton of progress will be made going forward from here. I think those teams are awesome. I have the utmost respect. I was part of them as a player, as a coach, as a GA. There are so many valuable lessons that come with those years and we apply a bunch of them, but we also do a really good job of looking forward and not looking back. Is there something analogous to the two? Probably. Having Michael Irvin on the sideline going bananas, that’s always a plus. It's great energy, great juice. I mean, you could feel his emotion. There’s a lot of similarities, but you know what, we’ve got a game in a week and a day so let’s go find out.
On what Cam McCormick means to the team…
Steady. Powerful. Strong. Sure-handed. Great route runner, on point in the running game. Excellent run blocker. Really good route runner and every time his number is called [Cam McCormick] has come through, so a guy that we all know that we can trust.
On the play of Cam Ward…
Look, that guy, you saw all the stuff [Cam Ward] went through and the times he was hit. He had some sacks, had a pick and what did the guy do? He just kept going and going and going. He’s unphased. I’m proud of him for being a tough-ass and finding a way to win.
On the message at halftime…
Look, I’m glad that we’re resilient and that we can look each other in the eye and call ourselves out so we can go out and do something about it but all that talk…talk with your pads, man. Come out to tell them to go do something about it. This is not Hollywood. This is ball and you’ve got to grow up and be a grown-ass man and do grown-ass man stuff and that’s a really good football team with an unbelievable defensive line, so I think the right points were made. I think guys knew that they had to step up and elevate their game and for the most part, a lot of guys did. And again, I know I’ve said it a million times, but we just found a way.
On the performance of the tight end group…
Well, I think they just keep getting better and better. I think they were instrumental in run blocking as well today. They are reliable, explosive targets. They’re really, really good. They are going to keep getting fed the ball. They are a really integral part of our offense.
On the fourth-quarter catch by Xavier Restrepo…
It was that kind of night, it really was. It was the kind of the night where [it’s like] man, is this going to happen. But look, we see those guys make those plays in practice in even more contorted positions than he did there. I mean, there’s a lot of faith and a lot of trust that they’re going to find a way to get it done. As to the question, which I don’t think I answered, these guys, they’re resilient, man. They just go. They go. They didn’t’ flinch. We’ve been growing this program for a couple years now and I’ve seen our teams be a little deflated. I’ve seen our teams be a little bit in a mode where they’re flinching. I didn’t see that at all in this group. I saw a team that was upset. They were pissed. They should’ve been pissed. We all were. It’s not the standard that we play, but I don’t want to focus on that. We found a way to win and I’m proud of the way these guys fought.
