The Canes pummeled Ball State 62-0 to achieve the school’s biggest blowout in FBS history. Mario Cristobal met with reporters after the game to discuss what went right:
Opening statement: Appreciate the fans that hung in throughout the successive delays. You feel them, they do a really good job, and it’s awesome to have them there. I know our players are really happy to see them hang in there.
I want to give credit to Coach Neu and his team. He's got a good football team. From a personnel standpoint, we have a big advantage, but he's got a tough football team. I want to wish him the best with the rest of the season.
But from start to finish, I thought we became a better football team. We left the field different than how we entered. Finishing drives, competing, getting them off the field on three and outs more successively. Third-down defense continued to play at a high level and got a shutout. We really controlled the middle eight (minutes before and after half), which is a big thing for us. All in all, just a really good performance and looking forward to a great opportunity next week.
On playing well in front of the 1989 team: Those are my teammates, so there was some natural pressure that they better play well in front of my guys.
In the springtime, when the alumni came for the alumni reunion and spoke to our team, that one hit different. I go back to what Michael Irvin said to the team and what Andre Johnson, Devin Hester said to the team. Then those guys spent a couple hours just sitting at tables with our guys and talking to them. It just hit different. Our team understands Miami and what the Miami Brotherhood is more now than they did when they arrived. So it meant a lot to them, and hopefully it meant a lot to the ‘89 guys as well.
On what Miami accomplished in the last two games: We did [play a lot of guys], and we cleaned up a lot of our stuff, too. The use of technology, the headsets, all that stuff. Our systems, figuring out who can do what well. And then also putting some guys in situations to play and seeing if they could perform at a level we can win with them. A lot of progress in those areas.
The one area that was disappointing was the penalties. We’re trying hard to become a better special teams unit. We had some bright spots early on a kickoff and then later we got tangled up on some of the return game stuff. It's not us. We’ve got to do a better job. But all in all, just proud of the team handling the delay. They did a good job with that. Proud of them making a decision to get better today. See their families, get in bed, and get ready for a big game next week.
On the running game: Early on, we weren't running the ball very well. Some of it was loaded boxes, some of it was we gotta do a better job. Some of it was sometimes missing a hole. It was a little bit of everybody contributing to our lack of running the ball to our standard. As the game went on, we started wearing on them and started popping some runs.
When we look at the film, we'll certainly attack that, because that's a big part of what we do. We're throwing the ball really, really well. We've had our moments in the run game. If we can combine the two, we're gonna be really hard to stop.
On having so many players with 20+ yard catches: Now that it's year two of Coach Dawson's system, everyone's really starting to feel comfortable, excel at it, and understand timing and spacing. In the passing game, that's the most critical thing along with protection. We've got a good offensive line. Cam sometimes checks us and puts us in great protection. When he knows he's not protected, he knows where to go with the ball and he gets to that person quickly.
We're hitting on all cylinders in the passing game, but you'll ask Cam and he'll tell you, he felt like he left some things out there. That's where we want to stay. We’ve got a lot of work to do and we're looking forward to getting back to work.
On Jason Taylor coaching so hard with 20 seconds left in the game: The whole staff is like that. That's the only way to operate here. We work very hard. Jason does a fantastic job. I've mentioned a lot of times before, he has nothing to prove and approaches work every day like he has everything to prove. That goes for the rest of our staff as well. Very hungry, driven, servant leaders. Very lucky to have them with us and they want to get right on the next opponent right away.
On what the first three wins mean: Progress. There's 12 chapters in a regular season and then you earn the rest from there. We're improving, man. We're getting better.
We see a lot of areas where we can get better. We have done a good job of shutting out the noise and really focusing on our football family. It's all that matters.
On Cam Ward: He wants to get better. He wants to get challenged. When he comes to work tomorrow and watches film, we're going to challenge him. It's what he wants. That's why he came here.
I think he'll tell you, and our players will tell you that there's no time to really celebrate. We acknowledge progress. We're happy about the progress, but it only ignites and fuels our drive more. These guys want to get better.
A good start to the season. But we're just getting started. There's a lot of football to be played. We’ve got some great teams to play starting with this coming Saturday.
On Anez Cooper: I think he's good. It doesn't look like it's anything too serious. We expect him to be right in that practice on Tuesday.
On getting the young guys in: That's the best part. We rotated a lot of guys. We played 12 to 14 defensive linemen. We played seven linebackers. We played everybody in the secondary that we could. And on offense, we just about did the same thing.
It was good to see that as the game went on, that those guys upheld a high standard. I don't think the older guys are gonna let them do anything else. Because a week ago, we kind of fell off a little bit when those guys went in there. It's good to see them get valuable, meaningful snaps against a tough football team, and to be able to be productive and prove themselves worthy of getting some more playing time in the future.
On the delay: It's the first I've ever had it like that. You prepare for it forever, and now 28 years later we finally get to implement those processes. The first thing is we have really good older guys. We leaned on them. It's like, “Look, we're not gonna be all tense. We're also not going to be in a goofy mode. We've got to stay relaxed, take care of our bodies, wait for the next thing.”
Because we went out a couple times and then got sent back in. It's like giddy up, whoa, giddy up, whoa. That could play games with you. We simply said, “Look, they're going through the same thing. So who's going [to be impacted] more and who's going to handle it better when we come out the tunnel? Extra snacks, extra hydration. At one point in time, when it got pushed back to 6 plus, we went to get something a little bit more solid to eat. The skinny guys probably gained a couple pounds. So it's all good.
Opening statement: Appreciate the fans that hung in throughout the successive delays. You feel them, they do a really good job, and it’s awesome to have them there. I know our players are really happy to see them hang in there.
I want to give credit to Coach Neu and his team. He's got a good football team. From a personnel standpoint, we have a big advantage, but he's got a tough football team. I want to wish him the best with the rest of the season.
But from start to finish, I thought we became a better football team. We left the field different than how we entered. Finishing drives, competing, getting them off the field on three and outs more successively. Third-down defense continued to play at a high level and got a shutout. We really controlled the middle eight (minutes before and after half), which is a big thing for us. All in all, just a really good performance and looking forward to a great opportunity next week.
On playing well in front of the 1989 team: Those are my teammates, so there was some natural pressure that they better play well in front of my guys.
In the springtime, when the alumni came for the alumni reunion and spoke to our team, that one hit different. I go back to what Michael Irvin said to the team and what Andre Johnson, Devin Hester said to the team. Then those guys spent a couple hours just sitting at tables with our guys and talking to them. It just hit different. Our team understands Miami and what the Miami Brotherhood is more now than they did when they arrived. So it meant a lot to them, and hopefully it meant a lot to the ‘89 guys as well.
On what Miami accomplished in the last two games: We did [play a lot of guys], and we cleaned up a lot of our stuff, too. The use of technology, the headsets, all that stuff. Our systems, figuring out who can do what well. And then also putting some guys in situations to play and seeing if they could perform at a level we can win with them. A lot of progress in those areas.
The one area that was disappointing was the penalties. We’re trying hard to become a better special teams unit. We had some bright spots early on a kickoff and then later we got tangled up on some of the return game stuff. It's not us. We’ve got to do a better job. But all in all, just proud of the team handling the delay. They did a good job with that. Proud of them making a decision to get better today. See their families, get in bed, and get ready for a big game next week.
On the running game: Early on, we weren't running the ball very well. Some of it was loaded boxes, some of it was we gotta do a better job. Some of it was sometimes missing a hole. It was a little bit of everybody contributing to our lack of running the ball to our standard. As the game went on, we started wearing on them and started popping some runs.
When we look at the film, we'll certainly attack that, because that's a big part of what we do. We're throwing the ball really, really well. We've had our moments in the run game. If we can combine the two, we're gonna be really hard to stop.
On having so many players with 20+ yard catches: Now that it's year two of Coach Dawson's system, everyone's really starting to feel comfortable, excel at it, and understand timing and spacing. In the passing game, that's the most critical thing along with protection. We've got a good offensive line. Cam sometimes checks us and puts us in great protection. When he knows he's not protected, he knows where to go with the ball and he gets to that person quickly.
We're hitting on all cylinders in the passing game, but you'll ask Cam and he'll tell you, he felt like he left some things out there. That's where we want to stay. We’ve got a lot of work to do and we're looking forward to getting back to work.
On Jason Taylor coaching so hard with 20 seconds left in the game: The whole staff is like that. That's the only way to operate here. We work very hard. Jason does a fantastic job. I've mentioned a lot of times before, he has nothing to prove and approaches work every day like he has everything to prove. That goes for the rest of our staff as well. Very hungry, driven, servant leaders. Very lucky to have them with us and they want to get right on the next opponent right away.
On what the first three wins mean: Progress. There's 12 chapters in a regular season and then you earn the rest from there. We're improving, man. We're getting better.
We see a lot of areas where we can get better. We have done a good job of shutting out the noise and really focusing on our football family. It's all that matters.
On Cam Ward: He wants to get better. He wants to get challenged. When he comes to work tomorrow and watches film, we're going to challenge him. It's what he wants. That's why he came here.
I think he'll tell you, and our players will tell you that there's no time to really celebrate. We acknowledge progress. We're happy about the progress, but it only ignites and fuels our drive more. These guys want to get better.
A good start to the season. But we're just getting started. There's a lot of football to be played. We’ve got some great teams to play starting with this coming Saturday.
On Anez Cooper: I think he's good. It doesn't look like it's anything too serious. We expect him to be right in that practice on Tuesday.
On getting the young guys in: That's the best part. We rotated a lot of guys. We played 12 to 14 defensive linemen. We played seven linebackers. We played everybody in the secondary that we could. And on offense, we just about did the same thing.
It was good to see that as the game went on, that those guys upheld a high standard. I don't think the older guys are gonna let them do anything else. Because a week ago, we kind of fell off a little bit when those guys went in there. It's good to see them get valuable, meaningful snaps against a tough football team, and to be able to be productive and prove themselves worthy of getting some more playing time in the future.
On the delay: It's the first I've ever had it like that. You prepare for it forever, and now 28 years later we finally get to implement those processes. The first thing is we have really good older guys. We leaned on them. It's like, “Look, we're not gonna be all tense. We're also not going to be in a goofy mode. We've got to stay relaxed, take care of our bodies, wait for the next thing.”
Because we went out a couple times and then got sent back in. It's like giddy up, whoa, giddy up, whoa. That could play games with you. We simply said, “Look, they're going through the same thing. So who's going [to be impacted] more and who's going to handle it better when we come out the tunnel? Extra snacks, extra hydration. At one point in time, when it got pushed back to 6 plus, we went to get something a little bit more solid to eat. The skinny guys probably gained a couple pounds. So it's all good.
