Miami’s season is about to open with a long haul west, and Mario Cristobal says the Hurricanes have built a plan for it.
The Hurricanes face Stanford on Friday night in a road trip that takes them nearly as far from Hard Rock Stadium as they can get. It will be Miami’s second trip to California in three years, after the program also played in Arizona for the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Fiesta Bowl against Ole Miss in January.
Cristobal said the challenge goes beyond the miles.
“We have a process,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “You want to get your body and your mind acclimated, right?
So your travel plans are very different. It resembles what we did in the postseason last year.
You want to be able to practice out there. It’s a night game.
That’s the biggest challenge out there a couple of years ago … 9 o’clock over there is 12 o’clock as to what we’re accustomed to; seven is 10, all that stuff.
“But we feel that our sports science department, along with strength and conditioning, nutrition and just experience in studying the NFL teams, some other organizations, on their records and their processes over the years traveling east to west - we’ve implemented that stuff. We feel strongly about it, and we put it into action.”
Friday’s matchup is also a rarity in program history. It will be Miami’s third regular-season game on the West Coast since 2000. The Hurricanes played Cal two years ago and went to Seattle to face Washington in 2000.
The overall California ledger is a short one. Miami has played seven regular-season games in the state since the program began in 1926. That list includes a win over Cal in 2024, losses to UCLA in 1995, San Diego State in 1979 and USC in 1968, plus victories over San Diego State on the road in 1992 and over Cal and San Diego State in 1990.
For Cristobal, the point is to keep the routine steady and let the game sort out the rest.
“The bottom line is: Let’s go play football, and we’ll find out a lot about ourselves,” Cristobal said. “But when you’re playing this stuff, I think whether it was at the beginning or whether it was later in the season, you have to approach it in the same manner in terms of when you leave, how you do things, where you practice, what times you practice, reset your clock. But all focus is on making sure we do everything humanly possible to be the winner.”
Cristobal also declined to offer an update on running back Jordan Lyle’s status for Friday’s opener after Lyle’s arrest earlier this month.
“Same status,” Cristobal said. “Letting everything run their process.”
Lyle, a junior, rushed for 400 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman in 2024. His sophomore season in 2025 was slowed by injuries that limited his production.
Cristobal said Miami came out of fall camp in solid shape physically.
“Camp for us - I’m sure, like for all - is extremely physical and challenging or whatnot, but responsible,” Cristobal said. “I don’t think it’s walking a line.
I think it’s a very clear line. You have to get both done, both accomplished.
I feel we’re in a good spot.”
He did not announce any injuries on Monday. The ACC will release an availability report for conference teams before each league game.
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