If things look all sunny and clear for the Miami Hurricanes right now, Mario Cristobal is more than happy to remind his players that a thunderstorm could be right around the corner.
Cristobal, in what could possibly be an attempt to emulate Nick Saban's old rants on "rat poison", told On3's Brett McMurphy that the Hurricanes shouldn't be celebrating anything until they've actually accomplished something.
NEW: After a near national title & 5 straight wins vs. SEC, don't suggest to Mario Cristobal Miami has a target on its back.
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 4, 2026
"We haven't done shit. The 2026 Miami Hurricanes haven't won shit," he told @On3
UM more motivated after last year? Absolutelyhttps://t.co/TzgaAd47oD
Cristobal isn't just playing lip service here. He knows that two good seasons don't necessarily establish a culture. Look up north to Florida State. The Seminoles went 10-3 in 2022 and 13-1 in 2023, now they can't beat Stanford. In this world of college football, any team is one bad season away from falling off the radar. Miami isn't Ohio State yet. The Hurricanes can't simply roll out of bed and win 11 games in a season. Last year's slip ups against Louisville and SMU should be a reminder of that.
Mario Cristobal knows that a championship should be the only goal for the Miami Hurricanes
So the Hurricanes coach isn't going to waste a lot of breath or energy hyping up the Hurricanes or talking about all the great things they've done over the past two years. Instead, he's reminding them of what they haven't done and why they are working so hard. Winning that first ACC championship in football means a lot to Cristobal. The lack of an ACC conference championship trophy feels like a major void for a program that has five national titles and two major documentaries. Add to that the fact that programs like Wake Forest and Duke have won titles since Miami joined this conference should be infuriating.
The expectations in Coral Gables are as high as they've been in 25 years. Miami has a roster that should compete for the CFP championship, but this is going to be much harder than it was in 2001. The Hurricanes will have to play 15 games at minimum and possibly as many as 17 (since there's no guarantee the ACC champion will get a first-round bye) to be in the picture for a championship. That means they will have to stay healthy and have depth and deal with the lulls and adversity that come with any season.
Cristobal learned from the best about what "rat poison" can do to a program and, much like his mentor, he's making sure it doesn't contaminate the Miami locker room.
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