Mario Cristobal gets first-year grade from national College Football analysts

The first season under head coach Mario Cristobal for the Miami football program was a huge disappointment. Miami finished 5-7 after being picked by the media to win the ACC Coastal. Cristobal was graded by Brad Crawford of 247 Sport and Paul Myerberg of USA Today with other first-year head coaches.

Mario Cristobal was part of a group of first-year head coaches in high-profile programs in 2022. Several had exceptional seasons like Sunny Dykes at Texas Christian and Lincoln Riley at USC. The Horned Frogs finished the regular season 12-0 before losing in the Big XII Championship game to Kansas State.

Even with the loss, TCU is the third seed in the College Football Playoff and will play Michigan in the Semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve. USC finished the 2022 season 11-2 and earned a trip to the Cotton Bowl versus Tulane after losing the Pac-12 Championship Game last week.

Miami failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2007. The Hurricanes’ 5-7 record matched the 2007 team. Miami has only one bowl win since 2007. Cristobal is working hard on securing a top-10 recruiting class. Miami will have a lot of turnover on its roster with 14 players already in the transfer portal.

11. MARIO CRISTOBAL, MIAMI (5-5) (Brad Crawford 247 Sports)

"Grade: C-“On the field, the Hurricanes are playing well below expectations under Mario Cristobal. Many believes Miami would win the ACC Coastal in his first season, but the Hurricanes have rarely played with consistency on either side of the football and blowout home losses to Middle Tennessee, Duke and Florida State were truly embarrassing from a national level.That being said, this season is not a total failure for a program currently holding the ninth-best recruiting class for the 2023 cycle, which could end with a bang during the Early Signing Period for Cristobal and staff. That’s what is saving this season from receiving a D grade at the moment.”"

Miami allowed at least 40 points in a game this season five times for the first time in program history. The offense was frequently anemic with quarterback Tyler Van Dyke missing most of the second half of the season with a shoulder injury. Highly rated backup QBs Jacurri Brown and Jake Garcia were too inconsistent.

Mario Cristobal, Miami (Fla.) (5-7) D- (Paul Myerberg USA Today)

"One blowout loss gave way to another, another to another and so on down the line until Cristobal’s debut was defined almost entirely by a series of high-profile flops. The Hurricanes went 1-6 against bowl-eligible competition, giving up at least 40 points in losses to Middle Tennessee State, Duke, Florida State, Clemson and Pittsburgh."

The record against good teams has continued a too-frequent trend for the Miami football program that Mario Cristobal was brought in to fix. A 17-9 loss at Texas A&M in September was the only one for Miami against non-bowl eligible teams. Texas A&M also finished the 2022 season with a 5-7 record.

The only win for Miami against a bowl-eligible team was a 30-7 victory in September over 6-6 Southern Mississippi. Southern Miss will play Rice in the Lending Tree Bowl. Cristobal needs to turn around the fortunes of the Miami football program on the field next season. Miami cannot afford back-to-back losing seasons.