Mario Cristobal appreciated the way his team battled back from adversity, but it doesn't mean he's happy with the Miami Hurricanes' performance on Saturday.
Miami came into this Week 7 rivalry matchup with Florida State as huge 21.5-point favorites, but at the start of the fourth quarter the Hurricanes were trailing 21-14 and needed two overtimes to dispatch the rivals from Tallahassee. And the fourth-quarter score was actually indicative of the game, because up to that point, the Seminoles were outplaying the Hurricanes and they were making fewer mental errors. That's hard to believe for a program that hasn't won a road game in almost three years.
But with Miami's back against the wall, Cristobal saw what the Hurricanes were capable of. Now they have to show the coach that they can be a more fundamentally sound team as the schedule gets a little tougher.
"I could sit here and rattle off a million mistakes and errors that we need to correct, but we just kept playing. We just kept battling and finding a way until we got the momentum. Then, we made a couple of plays that were the difference in the game," he said.
Canes HC Mario Cristobal opens his presser, as always, thanking the fans for the atmosphere they created at Hard Rock tonight.
— Christy Chirinos (@ChristyChirinos) October 18, 2026
On Bryce Fitzgerald’s INT: “He found a way to get that ball…lots of love for Bryce Fitzgerald.”
Miami looked disappointment in the eye and didn't blink against Florida State
Like I said, the Seminoles came to play and, truthfully, we should've expected it. They had nothing to lose and for as much as we think Mike Norvell is a joke, his players might actually like him or just have too much pride to simply lay down for the Hurricanes,
Whatever it was, Miami learned real quickly that FSU was here to play and, for many fans, the memories of last year came back. The upset loss to Louisville on Friday night, followed by the loss to SMU the following week. It almost kept the Hurricanes out of the CFP last season, much like it did in 2024 when Miami lost two of its final three games to miss out on the 12-team playoffs.
But if these Hurricanes have shown anything over the past calendar year, it's toughness. They ran off eight straight wins last season to reach the CFP championship and despite some sloppy play . . .and some game management decisions (oh no, not THAT again), Miami survived today.
There was nothing close to perfect about Saturday night and the Hurricanes have to be a lot better with Duke, Virginia Tech, Pitt and, of course, Notre Dame, remaining on the schedule. However, there's nothing better than beating a rival and for the third straight year, Miami knows how that feels.
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