Was Mario Cristobal happy with the Miami Hurricanes win over Florida State in Week 7? Sure, he has often stated that the ultimate goal is to go 1-0 each week and that was accomplished.
Was the coach happy with the way the Hurricanes played in said victory? Probably not. I'm sure he loved the fight and the resiliency, but he didn't like the unforced mistakes, the lack of consistency on both sides of the ball, and some of the wasted possession on offense.
But one thing Cristobal isn't going to do is complain about the referees.
Mario Cristobal, answering a question on the way Xavier Lucas played in his first game back, noted there appeared to be a push once in coverage but, "We're not going to complain about any calls." 👀
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) October 19, 2026
Cristobal;s full quote on the play in question: "One of [the touchdowns] you know, is always going to be contested with a some people say push. We're not going to complain about any calls."
Maybe it's the spoils of winning in this case, and it's certainly a shot after Mike Norvell, who will never shy from passing the buck on his inability to win football games. But it's also just something that Cristobal hasn't done a lot in his coaching career.
College football officiating has been particularly bad this year. Every year, there are some calls that are missed and some questionable ones that are made, but this year has been awful, and there were issues in several games during Week 7.
The question in call was a hold that nullified an FSU touchdown in the second overtime. It looked questionable on the replays at the time and, even if it was a hold, the general feeling from some parties was that you don't make that call in that situation. I don't necessarily agree with that, and some All-22 angles seem to suggest that the hold was a little more visible than what the TV replays showed.
Mario Cristobal takes the win and moves forward
Cristobal isn't going to litigate with officials over a potential push-off on Duce Robinson's 75-yard touchdown (I thought it was basic hand fighting between a receiver and a defensive back) or a questionable facemask call on Chase Smith that led to a Seminoles touchdown. Football is a physical game. There's a hold on every play. There's a facemask and pass interference on nearly every play. Not everything gets called.
There were penalties made or missed in last year's CFP Championship game against Indiana. At the end of the day, it was what it was. FSU had plenty of opportunities to pull off the upset against Miami, and the referees weren't the ones who stopped the Seminoles from scoring on those rudimentary fourth-down calls around the goal line. Those plays were the equivalent of Norvell deciding to punt in the red zone.
Cristobal is done with the FSU game. That is last week's news. Norvell and the Seminoles have a bye, so they can complain about all the ways they failed to win another game against the Hurricanes, but Cristobal has to deal with a noon game against Pitt, which, given how late the FSU game ended, almost feels like a short week. The Panthers are beat up, and they have a coach who can keep his mouth shut, but it's the challenge that Miami will have to overcome to accomplish the goal of going 1-0 for the week.
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