CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Rivalry games are the only games where records don't matter. Last weekend, the Red River Rivalry saw the No. 1 team in the country get defeated by an offense that had struggled to do anything all season.
No. 3 Miami (5-0, 3-0 ACC) will follow in the footsteps of Texas. The Canes are one of the nation's best teams; UM's biggest rival, Florida State, has struggled against Top 30 teams.
However they look to avoid the mistakes of the Longhorns.
Mario Cristobal doesn't buy into the notion that the Hurricanes should take this game easy because of who they are. The Seminoles have had chances to win marquee games and are a few missed opportunities away from being undefeated.
"I think you have to look at scores as it relates to last Friday," Cristobal said. "A fourth-and-two conversion makes it 21-0, and the game's practically over. A 21-6 lead at Alabama and a seven-point game with four and a half minutes left is real. Looking at football around the country, watching the one game, I believe it was Oklahoma, Texas, right?
"An unranked team versus the number one team in the country. And at the end of the game, right? So football nowadays, everybody has really, really good talent. If anyone is assuming that they should win or they're entitled to winning, they're out of their minds. They're going to get beat. And we hammer that and drive that home not only in terms of preaching it and showing it and really ripping through examples around the country, but you make it the way you practice.
"You really challenge your guys. You make sure your coaches are on edge, your entire organization is on edge, and that point's got to get hammered through. It's got to hit home. And so we just keep it very real. We don't try to deny that."
Others have caught wind of the rivalry and understand why it is so important.
After last season, defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman was born into the madness and knows it's one of the greatest rivalries in sports. He also knows that records don't matter in games like this.
"Yeah, I think, it's one of the greatest rivalries in sport, I think anytime in these games, it's throw the records out, throw everything out," Hetherman said. "You never know what's going to happen. You watch it this past weekend, Texas-Oklahoma. These games, you got to throw everything out, we got to show up. And that's been the message.
"But this is one of those games where everyone knows each other. It's a huge battle, and I think it's one of the biggest ones in the country."
Miami won't let up on the gas, and with a game like this, now is the perfect time to show they are still one of the most dominant teams.
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