Josh Pate isn’t just riding the wave with Miami - he’s planting a flag. And he’s not doing it lightly. On his show and again on the CanesinSight Podcast, Pate doubled down on his belief in Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes, even while acknowledging he’s going against the grain.
“I’m kind of on an island here,” Pate said. “I’m not doubting Curt Cignetti - I’m just choosing to believe in Mario a little bit.
Choosing to believe in Carson Beck. Who’s ever gone wrong doing such things?”
It’s a bold stance, but it’s grounded in what Cristobal has already done - and what he’s building toward. If Miami pulls this off, Pate believes it could be a defining moment, not just for the program, but for Cristobal’s legacy.
Cristobal’s Rebuild: From Rock Bottom to Relevance
Before Cristobal took over, Miami hadn’t posted back-to-back double-digit win seasons since 2002-03. That’s over two decades - a full generation of fans who hadn’t seen The U matter on the national stage.
And when Cristobal arrived, the situation was far from ideal. In 2022, Miami went 5-7, including a demoralizing home loss to Middle Tennessee State and a beatdown by Duke.
Some thought Cristobal inherited a strong roster. Pate sees it differently.
“Sometimes your entry point is rock bottom,” he said. “Sometimes you have to torch the barn and kill the rats. That’s about as close as you get to a full restart in major college football - and he knew it.”
Cristobal didn’t sugarcoat the challenge. He laid out, in brutally honest terms, what it would take to rebuild Miami the right way.
And the program bought in - even when the early returns were rough. They didn’t take shortcuts.
They took their lumps.
And now? The narrative around Cristobal is changing.
“A lot of the criticism used to be, ‘He’s just a recruiter; his in-game decisions are questionable,’” Pate noted. “You don’t really hear that lately. That didn’t just happen by accident - he took that personally.”
Cristobal addressed the weaknesses. Whether it was hiring the right people or developing his own situational acumen, he adapted. The program’s intensity reflects that - not just on game days, but in the trenches of spring practice.
“It’s a different volume at Miami,” Pate said. “It would feel like being dropped into a war zone.”
And that’s by design. Cristobal’s culture isn’t for everyone - but then again, neither is greatness. Pate drew comparisons to the likes of Kirby Smart, Ryan Day, and Nick Saban - coaches who demand everything and tolerate nothing less.
The Matchup: Miami’s Talent vs. Indiana’s Efficiency
After watching the Peach Bowl, Pate walked away thinking he might’ve just seen the national title game. Indiana looked that good. Yet, a week later, he still picked Miami.
Part of that pick, he admitted, was emotional. He’d backed Miami early in the year, faced pushback, and wanted to see it through. But it wasn’t just a gut call - it was about the tape.
“Question one: Is Miami’s best good enough to beat Indiana? Yes,” he said.
“Question two: Do I need that for an entire season? No - I need it for four quarters.”
Pate laid out a clear path to a Miami win: disrupt Indiana on third downs, get pressure on Fernando Mendoza, and let Carson Beck do what he did against Ohio State. Add in the home-field edge, and the ingredients are there.
Still, the margin for error is razor thin. Indiana has been a model of efficiency all season, and Mendoza is playing the best football of his career - even better than when he won the Heisman. If you let him settle in, like Oregon did when he went 11-for-14 on third downs, you’re in trouble.
That’s what makes Pate nervous. He saw Miami dominate Ole Miss for a half and still only lead by four.
Indiana is even more efficient than Ole Miss. So even if Miami plays its brand of physical, line-of-scrimmage football, it might still come down to a one-score game late - with Mendoza holding the ball.
“If Indiana makes mistakes, Miami can win by two touchdowns,” Pate said. “The problem? Indiana doesn’t make many.”
Miami’s X-Factor: Power and Playmakers
While Indiana brings precision, Miami brings power. Pate likened it to a Deontay Wilder right hand - one punch can change everything. And in Mark Fletcher, Miami has the kind of back who can break a defense’s will.
“Mark Fletcher is the best back they’ll see all year: a hammer who finds creases and finishes,” Pate said.
But Indiana’s defense is built differently. Their discipline and execution are elite.
Pate painted a vivid picture: a play that should go for 100 yards - five-on-three to the left, motion, tight ends, the whole thing clicking - but the nose guard fights through two blocks, tracks the cutback, and drags the back down for two yards. That kind of detail and effort shows up on almost every snap.
Indiana’s Identity: No Capes, Just Consistency
Indiana doesn’t rely on superhero moments. Mendoza is their guy, but he only had one 300-yard game all year.
That’s not a knock - it’s a testament to how balanced and self-sufficient this team is. They don’t need Mendoza to throw on the cape every Saturday.
They play within their system, and that system has been ruthlessly effective.
“That’s why I ultimately think they’re the better team,” Pate said, “even if Miami has better individual talent.”
Still, he’s clear: this isn’t a long shot for Miami. This isn’t a Cinderella story. It’s a real, football-based case.
“There is absolutely a path for Miami,” he said. “This is not a lottery ticket.”
Pate’s final take? He trusts Miami in crunch time - just not quite as much as he trusts Indiana. Their efficiency is off the charts, and in a sport that often hinges on execution and detail, that might be the deciding factor.
“It’s not that Indiana made the playoff again,” Pate said. “It’s that their efficiency spiked to 10/10 across the board. That’s what feels abnormal for college football.”
In a game that could come down to inches and execution, that kind of consistency might be the ultimate edge. But if Miami lands that right hand - if Beck is sharp, Fletcher is punishing, and Cristobal’s culture shows up on every snap - the Hurricanes could make a statement that’s been two decades in the making.