In four seasons as Oregon’s head coach, Mario Cristobal was 7-6 against ranked teams. Cristobal previously was 0-6 versus ranked teams as the head coach versus ranked teams in six seasons at FIU. The better comparison for how Miami can expect to perform versus ranked under Cristobal was his tenure at Oregon.
Oregon averaged 26.57 points per game and allowed 30.21 in the 13 games Mario Cristobal coached against ranked teams in his four seasons leading the Ducks. Oregon won both of their games versus top five teams during the Cristobal era. Oregon won 37-14 versus number five Utah in 2019.
The Ducks won 35-28 last at number three Ohio State as a 14.5-point underdog. Boise State defeated Oregon 38-28 in the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl in the first game Cristobal coached the Ducks after Willie Taggart left for Florida State. In his first full season as head coach, Cristobal was 2-2 versus top 25 teams.
Oregon lost to number seven Stanford, had wins over 24th ranked California and number seven Washington and lost at 25th ranked Washington. The Ducks scored and allowed 123 points in its four games versus ranked teams in 2018. Oregon was 3-1 versus Top 20 teams during the 2019 season.
Led by star Quarterback Justin Herbert, Oregon began the season with a 27-21 loss to number 16 Auburn to begin the 2019 season. Oregon had wins over number 25 Washington, fifth-ranked Utah and number 11 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl to conclude the season winning their final three games versus ranked teams.
Oregon beat number 13 USC in the 2020 Pac-12 Championship Game before losing to 12th ranked Iowa in the Fiesta Bowl to split their two games versus ranked teams that season. After the win over Ohio State early in 2021, Oregon was outscored 76-17 by Utah in its final two games versus ranked teams under Cristobal in 2021.
Miami has games this season at preseason number six/seven Texas A&M on September 17 and fourth-ranked Clemson. Pittsburgh and North Carolina have the potential to be ranked when Miami plays the Panthers and Tar Heels. Miami dominated ranked teams at their peak. Cristobal has to improve versus ranked teams.