When Miami hired Mario Cristobal in 2022, Canes fans hoped Mario Cristobal would build a roster that would be ready to go to the Swamp. But the Swamp wasn’t ready for that Canes roster. Cristobal met with reporters after the game to discuss the team’s performance:
On the flow of the game: I thought our guys came out right away and created momentum, seized the momentum. And when it seemed like Florida was going to get some of it back, the response was awesome. After the interception, defense comes up with a big stop, forces a field goal. We had an opportunity to respond, and we did. From a 96-yard drive, to converting some really critical, down-the-distance situations. A lot of special guys make a lot of special plays.
On meeting with the fans post-game: No one ever likes to talk about the starting point. When we got to Miami, there was a lot of work to do. These guys have been through a lot, and they made the decision that it was enough. They've had enough, and they were going to prove that by the way they played the game. They did that.
A lot of fans made their way through. I know they only gave us 4,000 tickets. I don't know how that's even legal. A lot more of our fans found a way to get in the stadium and I wanted to make sure they were recognized by our players. Because once a Cane, always a Cane.
On Cam Ward: Special, special guy. You guys were probably wondering during camp, “Man, they talk a lot about Cam Ward. Is he really that good?” He’s just scratching the surface. He wanted to keep playing and playing. Really accurate, improvised, right, extended plays. Protection was great, albeit that one play. He’s got a great connection with his receivers. Those guys are really tight. They've repped those plays. They've repped the adjustments to those plays so many times.
He just loves to compete, and he sets it off. He's the one. Every team has a spark plug. Every game has a spark plug. He and a couple of those other guys, but him particularly was it today.
On Cam Ward not wanting to leave the game late in the 4th: Is that not surprising at all? It's awesome. I hope every player on the field is like that for the University of Miami. We're playing Miami football now. We're starting to look like Miami in a lot of different respects.
It was interesting. We brought up the team and spoke to him before we left the hotel. And you could tell. That certain look in the eye when you practice that good. You've been prepping that well for such a long period of time. It's shown in practice that a guy's gonna play. He's gonna play big, and he certainly did today.
On the momentum from this win: As long as you keep winning, right? Don't mess it up the following week. It’s all about the University of Miami. We’ve been working our butts off. Everybody has. This one goes to the players, all the people, all the coaches that worked their butts off to make it happen.
This is a big rivalry game for us. I never got to play in this game. I came to Miami as a player to play in games like this, and the last game was played the year before I got here. Miami hasn't been here in 16 years? And hasn't won here in 20+ years. So you think this game was big? You think the amount of just animosity, hatred, bad blood between the fan bases, you think it amped it up a little bit? Come on, it was through the roof. It was off the charts.
Rivalry games, they last for a year. They last for a year and you can't do anything about it until the following year. And certainly when you play an opponent of that caliber, playing against the SEC at one of their stadiums and getting a convincing win like that is great.
But the most important thing was for the first time in a long time, Miami's had a chance to play a big time game to start the season. Now, we gotta show we can handle that success and go get better. That's really the most important thing. We're in steps, we're in stages, but today was a really, really big step. Just beyond proud of those guys, their resilience, their toughness, their work ethic. They did it all and they put it on film.
On the physicality in the trenches: They were getting off the ball, they were getting hands. Block destruction really showed up. The way we practice showed up. We practice hard. It's always like this. They always practice really hard. It showed up really well.
On the flip side, the quarterback was protected well. We finally got to their quarterback and finally forced one to go up and get picked. I thought Meesh was gone. What a great play by him, man. What a great player.
All in all, an awesome team effort. We’ve got to clean up a couple things that we saw there, of course, but an awesome day.
On Rueben Bain: Soft tissue injury. It should be a week, maybe two. Same thing with Damari [Brown], so we're playing without two of our best players. Credit to our team. In their mind, it was “Whatever it takes, and just keep playing. Play the next play. The momentum of the game is gonna turn our way, but just keep playing.”
On the connection between Ward and Xavier Restrepo: These two really looked on point all day today. X was always good, and now he's taken it to another level. Besides the great hands, you see just the way he contorts his body to make catches. He understands what's going on around the field, almost like a sixth sense. You saw him catch that one ball, put a foot in the ground, spin out, go the other way, and get another dozen yards or so. Two special dudes that enjoy working with each other, and a great start to the season.
On Cam McCormick: Love that guy. Can't say enough about his contribution and the sacrifices he's made to be a part of our organization for nine years. And don't laugh. You're all jealous. You all want to be in college for nine years, too. That's awesome.
On Ryan Rodriguez: He was walking around. He looked pretty good. We're very optimistic that his injury is not too bad.
On Mark Fletcher: How about that guy, huh? He looked really good to me. That guy is an absolute tough SOB, determined, resilient guy, and an unbelievable team player.
