Since Mario Cristobal arrived in Miami, and probably during his time at Oregon, there have been questions about his game management. These issues have reared their ugly head from time to time over the past few seasons, but there hadn't been many instances this season...until last Saturday.
Miami led FSU 28-3 after three quarters and were well in control. But the offense seemed to go into a deep freeze in the fourth period and the Seminoles staged a late rally, scoring 19 unanswered points to make the final score look closer than the game actually was.
Canes HC Mario Cristobal, on the FSU win:
— Christy Chirinos (@ChristyChirinos) October 6, 2025
"Three quarters of dominant football, one quarter that wasn't up to the standard...penalties derailed two of our last three drives...certainly something our players immediately recognized...there was a sense of 'we're better than that.'"
Cristobal was a guest on the Barstool Sports' "Pardon my Take" podcast and when the question came up about winning big to get "style" points in the eyes of voters, the Miami coach suggested that the Hurricanes' style of play and dominance on the line of scrimmage tells the story as much as running up a big score.
""We always want to keep our foot on the gas. Obviously, we didn't play a very good fourth quarter the other night and that's got to change and that will change. "But I think that your style points come in your style of play as well. And if your style of play is that of substance where it's about legitimate blocking, tackling, great pad level physicality and violence, that'll show.""Miami HC Mario Cristobal
Cristobal prefers substance over style
As much as Cristobal wants to make sure the Hurricanes are executing at a high level throughout the game, he also sees situations like last Saturday as an opportunity to strengthen the depth of the roster. He knew FSU was going to continue to push, and he was able to get his backups some valuable snaps against a top opponent's first team.
Did it make the scoreboard look closer than it should have been? Sure. But in the world of the 12-team playoff style, points don't mean what they used to. And for Cristobal, it's more important to have the backups ready to play crucial minutes if they are called upon.
"We lean a little more...I would say a lot more on roster development as opposed to style points," Cristobal explained. "By that I mean if you can get your twos and threes, another 30-35 snaps of live football and, I don't know, score once or twice, and maybe they score once, as opposed to another 35 points with your ones. We'll take roster development all day because you're going to need those guys."