Mario Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes take big step toward the playoff with gritty win over Notre Dame

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – One of the University of Miami’s most anticipated seasons is only days away, yet Mario Cristobal is thinking about his death.

Not how or when it happens, but what he wants to accomplish before then.

“I want to go to the grave one day knowing that Miami is in the best place that it’s ever been and that takes work,” Cristobal said. “You can’t talk your way there. You can’t post and tweet your way there.

“We’ve come a long way. We still have a long way to go.”

Sunday night, No. 10 Miami took a big step in the right direction with a 27-24 victory over No. 6 Notre Dame at Hard Rock Stadium. By no means did Miami clinch a College Football Playoff berth, but it put the Hurricanes in a great position.

Last season, Miami was also in a great position. Until they collapsed in their regular-season finale at Syracuse. All the Hurricanes, who jumped to a 21-0 lead against Syracuse, needed was a win to make the ACC title game, but UM fell apart in the second half and lost 42-38.

It was similar to 2017 when the ‘Canes opened 10-0 under Mark Richt, only to fade down the stretch, losing their final three games. No playoff berth that season either.

Those past failures motivate Cristobal.

“We don’t want to repeat history in the sense of getting really good and then falling off,” Cristobal said. “We want to be able to sustain and achieve a high level success and then sustain it. That’s what we want.”

Lately, Cristobal’s been getting what he wants. In the past four years, Miami has ranked in the top 16 each year in both the Rivals Industry recruiting and On3 Transfer Portal rankings.

That talent saved the Hurricanes on a sweltering Sunday night. Quarterback Carson Beck, a Georgia transfer, threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns, including a remarkable one-handed catch of the year candidate by CJ Daniels to end the first half. Daniels only became a Hurricane after previous stops at LSU and Liberty.

“I’ve been chasing CJ in the portal for two years,” Cristobal said. “He told me ‘Coach, I’m just getting started.’ ”

Defensively, star Reuben Bain had a team-high six tackles and made an insane interception for a skill player, much less a 6-foot-3, 270-pound lineman. Bain pursed the play to the sideline for the interception, after the ball was first tipped and then ricocheted off a foot.

Ultimately, it was Carter Davis’ foot that provided the winning margin. Davis, an FAU transfer, hit a 47-yard field goal with 1:04 remaining.

“It was a muddy, bloody night,” Cristobal said. “It was like ‘rock ‘em, sock ‘em robots.’ It came down to who had one more shot in them.”

Whenever Notre Dame visits Miami, the Hurricanes always get in more shots. Notre Dame lost its last six trips to Miami by an average of 28 points. The last UM-Irish meeting was in 2017, but the previous five were played in the 1980s in the old Orange Bowl, the Canes’ former decrepit house of horrors for visitors.

To stress the importance of the UM-Irish rivalry, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman showed his team clips from some of those games. He was “trying to light a fire in our hearts to understand what’s happened in the past,” Irish wide receiver Jordan Faison said. 

Miami didn’t want Notre Dame to forget about the past either. Anytime Notre Dame’s rookie QB CJ Carr looked toward the Miami bench, he likely saw former UM legends Michael Irvin, Ray Lewis, Andre Johnson, Edgerrin James, Jim Kelly or coach Jimmy Johnson stalking the UM sideline.

Cristobal embraces Miami’s past, which includes five national championships between 1983 and 2001. But he wants to do it his way.

Before he coached his first game at Miami in 2022, Cristobal halted Miami’s hyped Turnover Chain celebration. He crushed it, like Cristobal, a former offensive lineman at UM, did to defensive linemen from 1989-92. 

He didn’t like the flash. He doesn’t want anything to distract the work ahead. 

“We bring this community together … like we all know when it comes together, the magic that comes with it,” Cristobal said. “That’s the obsession. That’s the drive. That’s the determination.

“It’s that simple. That’s the reason for coming back to Miami. That’s the reason for putting everything else aside and making sure we found our way back here to do it the way it’s supposed to be done, at whatever costs. Whatever it takes. So all we do is shut our mouths and work our butts off.”

Sunday’s victory continues that work. Cristobal’s increased UM’s win total each season: from 5-7 to 7-5 to 10-3. Anything less than a playoff berth will not be acceptable this season. 

“You get to that point where we feel the reality that we have a strong trajectory and that we’re going to stay relentless until we get there,” Cristobal said. “And when we get there, we’re just going to keep going and get better. 

“Opportunities are going to be right there in front of us and brother we work to a level that most people can never even fathom. We don’t want a pat on the back or a good job. We don’t. You know we want to see Miami win at the highest level.”

The Hurricanes did that Sunday night. Can they continue that into December?