Mario Cristobal isn’t spending much time on the officiating from Miami’s win over Florida State, and he made that clear when asked about a play involving Xavier Lucas.
Cristobal said there seemed to be some contact in coverage, but he wasn’t interested in turning it into a grievance session. “We're not going to complain about any calls.”
His full comment on the play in question was: “One of [the touchdowns] you know, is always going to be contested with a some people say push. We're not going to complain about any calls.”
That stance landed as a direct contrast to Mike Norvell, who has been eager to shift blame when things go sideways for the Seminoles. Cristobal, by comparison, has not made a habit of going after officials in his coaching career.
There were still plenty of officiating moments from Week 7 to stir debate, and the Miami-Florida State game had its share. The call at the center of the discussion was a hold that wiped out an FSU touchdown in the second overtime.
It looked shaky on replay, and even if it was technically a hold, there was a belief from some that it shouldn’t have been flagged in that spot. Still, some All-22 angles appeared to show the hold more clearly than the TV angles did.
Cristobal showed no interest in relitigating that sequence, or the potential push-off on Duce Robinson’s 75-yard touchdown. He also didn’t get into the questionable facemask call on Chase Smith that helped set up a Seminoles touchdown.
In his view, football is a physical game, and plenty of contact goes uncalled every week. There’s a hold on every play.
There’s a facemask and pass interference on nearly every play. Not everything gets called.
The bigger point, though, was that Miami did enough to win and Florida State did not. The Seminoles had chances to finish the upset and didn’t capitalize, including the rudimentary fourth-down calls around the goal line that came up empty. Those moments mattered more than any whistle.
Cristobal’s focus now is on moving forward. FSU’s bye week gives Norvell time to gripe if he wants, but Miami has to pivot quickly to a noon matchup with Pitt. Because of how late the Florida State game finished, it almost works like a short week for the Hurricanes.
Pitt is banged up, and Miami still has the same weekly target in front of it: go 1-0.
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Miami May Have Turned Rivalry Win Into A Huge Recruiting Boost
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Brysen Wright and Asher Ghioto, both members of the 2028 class and among the top-ranked players in Florida, were among the visitors with Miami already drawing buzz in their direction. Wright, who has stood out at Mandarin High School, could even end up moving up a class, which only adds to the intrigue for the Hurricanes as they try to turn a marquee win into momentum on the recruiting trail. [Read more 🡒]