It's Notre Dame week, but Mario Cristobal and Marquise Lightfoot aren't playing along with the fun. All season, Cristobal has shut down talk every time the Nov. 7 game against the Irish was mentioned. Now the Miami Hurricanes coach can't escape the hype, but it doesn't mean he's going to participate in it.
Cristobal had a very simple answer when he was asked about the upcoming challenge for the No. 1 team in the country.
Canes HC Mario Cristobal when asked about finally getting to Notre Dame week:
— Christy Chirinos (@ChristyChirinos) November 1, 2026
“Certainly looking forward to the opportunity.”
“Certainly looking forward to the opportunity," he said.
Yup, that's what he said. The coach's weekly media availability will be interesting.
Mario Cristobal isn't alone in not talking about next week
Cristobal's ability to slow play this Notre Dame matchup is admirable, and it's trickled down to players like Marquise Lightfoot, who claimed he didn't even know who the Hurricanes' next opponent was.
Marquise Lightfoot: “We’re just going to get ready for whoever we for whoever we have next week.”
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) November 1, 2026
Me: “You really don’t know who you have next?”
Lightfoot: “No, who is it?”
Me: “Notre Dame.”
Lightfoot: “Ok, Notre Dame then.”
Lightfoot is from Chicago. Believe me, he knows who's next on the schedule. That's the way Cristobal is operating and that's the way he wants the team to operate. It's not a bad thing either. Miami just went through an absolute battle against North Carolina, ending a five-game losing skid to the Tar Heels.
Maybe they just want 24 hours to enjoy it and cool down. What's wrong with that?
\We all know what's coming down on Nov. 7. People have been talking about this game for months, and it was one missed holding call in the end zone from being a No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle of undefeated teams. ESPN College GameDay is going to be there... for a game that their networks aren't even covering. It's big. We know it's big. The winner of this game is almost guaranteed to make the CFP 12-team bracket and will nearly be a lock for one of the top four seeds.
There's going to be a lot of trash talk among fans and plenty of hype from the media that will be heading to South Bend for this primetime showdown. But don't expect to hear much from Coral Gables this weekend. Heck, don't expect to hear much from Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame this week either. These coaches are cut from a similar cloth.
Both teams were probably a little guilty of looking ahead. Miami had no reason to look past North Carolina, but we're still dealing with young men here. They are not robots. Notre Dame struggled in the first half with Navy and Freeman had to remind his players about focusing on the matter at hand too.
"We can create a narrative that, oh, they were thinking about Miami or no, what we have to focus on, what did they do to execute versus our defense, and what did we not do on offense in the three-and-out set to make sure we execute?" the Notre Dame coach said.
Everyone involved with Miami and Notre Dame knows what this game means. The bulletin board material is pointless, and neither side wants to engage in the silliness. On Saturday night, they will let the football do the talking.
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