No. 4 Miami heads into its bye week with a 5-0 record and a 3-0 mark in conference play, but Mario Cristobal isn’t treating the break like a pause button.
For the Hurricanes, this is a stretch to clean up details, manage injuries and start turning more attention toward Florida State, with that matchup now set for 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Cristobal said the next two weeks will be split between self-scouting and getting a jump on the Seminoles, who play this Friday. He pointed to Florida State’s recent form after a dominant win, praising the way the Seminoles handled every part of the game.
"It will be a normal week where we work both on ourselves and on Florida State, and they play this Friday as well," Cristobal said. "They're coming off a big time win where they completely dominated their opponent, and I mean did in every way possible. 10 sacks, ran the ball well, threw the ball really well, just very, very impressive. So certainly a team that we're going to have to be at our best to play our best football."
Miami’s injury situation remains a major storyline, but Cristobal said the team is still in good shape because of its depth and the way players have kept battling through it. He also said the Hurricanes are expecting some key pieces to be back for the Florida State game.
"We've got to wait till the week gets going or whatnot," Cristobal said. "But I do feel, you know, last week we felt good about Xavier Lucas being there.
We feel even better. I know he didn't make it there, but and then [Ezekiel] Marcelin.
We didn't use Marcelin last game, but he was ready to go, and now we feel, with another couple weeks, he's gonna be in a good spot.
"But I want to commend our players for just continuing to just fight through some of the issues that we had physically and whatnot because the game meant a lot to them and a conference road game, any conference game is really, really important to them, and they just want to find a way to get to 1-0 and get it done."
One of the clearest signs of Miami’s growth has come up front, where the offensive line has started to settle in with the help of four-star freshman Ben Congdon at right guard. His first start of the season came against Clemson, and the Hurricanes liked what they saw.
Jackson Cantwell is expected by many to become a starter eventually, but his natural spot is tackle, and with the current starters playing at a high level, that move can wait. Congdon, meanwhile, has already given Miami another gear.
"Strong performance. Colossal human being.
Really, really big. But he plays that way," Cristobal said.
"The moment was not too big for him."
Miami’s defense is carrying plenty of weight too, and Cristobal singled out the linebackers as a major reason the unit has become one of the most physical groups in the country. He said Chase Smith and Mo Toure have been especially punishing in the middle of the field, making life difficult for anyone trying to work between them.
"The physicality of Chase [Smith] and Mo [Toure]," Cristobal raved. "Those guys, they made a massive impact on the game.
You know, you mentioned Chase. Well, how about Chase's first third down tackle?
And then the fourth down one, right? bBeing able to understand, man, all those.
You've seen Coach Heatherman practice and how hard he goes, and man, there's a lot going through my head right now. But this goes back to one of the questions: ss the buy-in to the way that we practice and how hard we go, and how hard Coach Heatherman is on them."
The Hurricanes enter the bye with momentum, depth and a big matchup waiting after the break. For Cristobal, the focus now is keeping Miami sharp while making sure the pieces are in place for the next challenge.
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