No. 10 Miami‘s run in the College Football Playoff came to an end Monday night at the hands of No. 1 Indiana 27-21. The Hurricanes had a chance to score a go-ahead touchdown late in the game, but a costly Carson Beck interception gashed all hopes of that.
Although the ‘Canes were unable to bring home a National Championship to South Beach, you can’t take away just how stellar of a season it was for Mario Cristobal‘s team. Miami won 13 games for the first time ever, racked up wins in the Fiesta Bowl and the Cotton Bowl, and knocked off four top-10 ranked opponents.
Following the National Championship loss, Cristobal highlighted those good moments, while cementing the fact that his program will be using the loss as fuel next season.
“At the end of the day, any loss is going to be painful but I’d like to reflect on the fact that these guys won 13 games this year,” Cristobal said. “They got to the postseason for the first time in Playoff history, then beat four top-10 teams, seven top-25 teams, won the Fiesta Bowl, won the Cotton Bowl, and I’ll take blame that we were one drive short of winning the National Championship.”
“I don’t see anything negative, but I do see pain in moments like this. But you should, if we’re a competitor worth anything. You feel it and you give those feelings a direction. I know the guys coming back will, and I know the guys moving on will continue to use that as fuel.”
Mario Cristobal says CFP run was ‘for the University of Miami’
Cristobal, who played at Miami from 1989-1992 and was hired to lead the program into a new era in 2022, has brought his alma mater back to national relevance in just a short amount of time. As recently as 2022, Miami lost a home game to Middle Tennessee State. Just three seasons later, the ‘Canes were on the doorstep of winning a national title and will be considered one of the favorites to do so next season.
“It’s not about me,” Cristobal continued. “It doesn’t matter the day or the time, I’m always gonna be really, really motivated because this is not for me. This is for the University of Miami. Our drive and determination has always been off the charts and it’s fueled by them. I want to do well by them, and the fact we aren’t leaving with the national title in hand is really hard to deal with.
“If you’re worth a damn as a competitor, you take all that stuff and give it a direction. That direction is to always let these guys know wherever they are in life that I’ve got their back and am just a phone call away no matter what, like my coach has always been for me. And for the ones that follow them, they will understand what the standard is, and they’ll be held to it.”
Following the loss to Indiana, Miami finishes with a 13-3 record with ranked wins over No. 2 Ohio State (Cotton Bowl), No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 6 Ole Miss (Fiesta Bowl), No. 7 Texas A&M (CFP), No. 18 Florida State, No. 18 USF, and No. 22 Pittsburgh. Under Cristobal, the ‘Canes are 23-6 across the past two seasons and have proved that ‘The U’ is officially ‘back’.