Four years ago, Mario Cristobal decided to leave his job as the Oregon Ducks' head coach to accept the role with his alma mater, the Miami Hurricanes.
Since then, he has transformed the 5-7 Canes to a team that has earned its place in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, seemingly proving everybody wrong, especially a former ESPN analyst.
When the rumors of Cristobal heading to Miami were still unconfirmed, then-ESPN college football analyst David Pollock questioned why either side would make the move.
Pollock even went as far as to say that Cristobal didn't have the wins at Oregon to have earned the head coaching role at Miami, despite the Ducks winning two Pac-12 Championships and a Rose Bowl over the Wisconsin Badgers during Cristobal's tenure.
David Pollock was flat out wrong about Mario Cristobal
Pollock questioned Cristobal's "toughness," going as far as to say that Cristobal brought "a lot of notoriety, a lot of talk" to Oregon but not "a lot of winning." Oh, how the tables have turned.
The Hurricanes are 34-18 under Cristobal's leadership, and are on their third postseason performance since he took over in 2022. During his first year, Miami finished 5-7 overall, then 7-6 just one year later.
In 2024, the Canes earned a 10-3 overall record, losing to the Iowa State Cyclones in the Pop-Tarts Bowl by just one point.
Now, Miami has blown past the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies (10-3) and the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (24-14) to punch its ticket to the semifinals, where the Hurricanes will face the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels
Cristobal is doing exactly what he was hired to do at Miami, and everyone who doubted him, Pollock included, has been proven wrong.
On Thursday, Jan. 8, the No. 10 Hurricanes and the No. 6 Rebels are scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be aired on ESPN. With four days until the game, Miami is a 3.5-point favorite over Ole Miss.