Mario Cristobal's latest comments show Miami is not taking Ole Miss lightly

Miami coach Mario Cristobal is giving the Ole Miss Rebels the kind of respect that they deserve — and the one that will prevent the Hurricanes from looking too far ahead.

Ahead of Thursday's College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, Cristobal told reporters that Ole Miss "is the best team we have faced and will face this season."

Mario Cristobal showing respect to Ole Miss

Cristobal's message to his team is pretty clear here. Miami might be living the underdog storyline after beating the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes, but nobody thought — after Lane Kiffin bolted for LSU — that Ole Miss would get this far in the playoffs. It would be easy for Miami to think they have a free pass to the national championship game. These comments from Cristobal show their heads are in the right place.

Ole Miss is still dealing with the fallout of Kiffin leaving, and there is real uncertainty about which assistants will be on the sidelines Thursday.

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., tight ends coach/co-offensive coordinator Joe Cox, wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator George McDonald and running backs coach Kevin Smith have all signed contracts to join Kiffin's LSU staff, and they returned to LSU's campus Friday to welcome official visits on the first day of the portal window. Smith has rejoined the LSU staff and will not coach Ole Miss the rest of the way.

"It has zero impact on our preparation," Cristobal said of the Ole Miss staff situation, adding that he believes it does not impact Ole Miss' preparation, either.

Cristobal also said Miami has faced good quarterbacks, "especially the last couple of weeks," but described Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss as "a different level," adding, "He can do it all."

In the past couple of CFP matchups, Ohio State and Texas A&M have given Miami players a lot of bulletin board material. Coach Cristobal is not the type to do that.