Mario Cristobal details what statistical improvements say about Miami football

A team’s record at the end of the season isn’t necessarily indicative of the growth a team has had over the course of a season or two. That is the case right now with the Miami Hurricanes.

Second-year head coach Mario Cristobal improved his team from five wins to seven in 2023, but the statistics on paper tell a tale worth more than just than two games worth of improvement.

The ‘Canes finished Cristobal’s first season leading his alma mater ranked No. 85 in total offense and No. 64 in total defense. Compare those numbers to No. 25 in offense and No. 24 in defense this past season — the differences are night and day.

“It feels very similar, pretty much like deja vu of all the places we’ve been at,” Cristobal told On3’s JD PicKell on Thursday morning. “Albeit all but one opportunity for myself and our staff that has been in some type of rebuild. Whether it be going to Rutgers, whether it be going to FIU, whether it be coming to Miami in ’97, or Oregon and ’16 after a 4-8 season. They’ve all been very similar.”

Cristobal took FIU from a one-win team in 2007 and led them to an eight-win season before moving on to Oregon. He won a Rose Bowl during his time with the Ducks and turned them back into a contender in their respective conference, where they still are to this day.

Even though he’s been put in similar situations throughout his coaching career, things are a bit different at The U.

“Part of the biggest difference here is the amount and the caliber of student athletes that we’re recruiting and the ones that we’re landing, and now it’s the ability to get them in that culture,” Cristobal continued. “You mentioned how the weight room plays such a big role in what your team becomes in the course of the offseason. Well, we’ve been pounding away at culture and people and doing things a certain way for a couple of years now.

“The progress has been something that we feel really strongly about. It’s evident in the progress on the field and off the field as well. We expect to take another jump this season.”

Miami will kick its 2024 college football season off at The Swamp for a matchup against in-state rival Florida on Aug. 31 — a win Cristobal and company would love to have on the resume to begin the new, 12-team era in College Football Playoff history.