Mario Cristobal addresses how Miami can start, finish season strong

Miami rolled out to a 9-0 start to the season. The College Football Playoffs were firmly in sight, and the Hurricanes could practically taste the postseason.

Then a tough loss to Georgia Tech took some wind out of the sails. Worse, it essentially forced Miami to be perfect the rest of the way. That proved too tall a task, as a road trip to Syracuse two weeks later resulted in a heart-breaking defeat.

No playoffs. No real stakes in the postseason.

“No doubt,” coach Mario Cristobal said at ACC Media Days, asked how important finishing is this year. “It’s how you finish, right? It’s how you finish.”

Miami was on the verge of a spot in the playoffs a year ago, only for the late collapse to tank the team’s chances. The margin for error is pretty narrow.

But it has grown increasingly larger during Cristobal’s tenure as a head coach. The Hurricanes are knocking on the door.

“We’ve made a lot of progress over the last three years,” Cristobal said. “Year 1 our roster was not really built to take on Power Four football, and those were some lopsided games. It was tough. Then in Year 2 every game was competitive. And we won a couple more. Then last year we had a chance to win every single game but we didn’t.

“The bottom line is we didn’t get it done. And it’s more than — I know we pointed out the defense a little bit earlier — but you know what also fell apart at the end? Ball security. Right? You turn the ball over you subject yourself to some not-so-positive outcomes.”

Whatever the case — ball security, a defense that struggled, fatigue late — Miami aims to fix it all this fall. This is a team with playoff intentions.

Whether it can achieve that goal likely comes down to the level of improvement in that one key area. Finishing.

“Without a doubt, finishing is a mentality,” Cristobal said as he put a stamp on Miami’s media days appearance. “Finishing is a work ethic that comes with the offseason. We’ve always invested a ton of effort in those areas, and we’ve invested even more this offseason. And it’ll be a big part of training camp, as well.”