"Finding a Way to Win': Key Notes and Quotes From Mario Cristobal After FSU Victory

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It feels good to be king, and right now, Mario Cristobal is the top coach in the country. However, that is just one perspective on the game, and in the double-overtime thriller, No. 3 Miami (6-0, 4-0 ACC) outlasted Florida State (3-4, 1-3 ACC) 43-35.

Moreover, there were questionable calls at the end of the game that didn't faze Miami's head coach but still had others confused.

Furthermore, the Hurricanes saw a great state of affairs in how the stadium looked, sounded, and rocked all night long. This is the style of game and type of team the Hurricanes want to be, and Cristobal loved every second.

On Winning in This Style of Game

On the broadcast, the midseason Miami lulls over the last two years were highlighted front and center. Down seven points heading into the fourth. This was shaping up to be one of those games, and in the past, UM would drop.

This time they didn't.

"Then credit to our guys because I could sit here and rattle off a million mistakes and errors that we need to correct, but we just kept playing," Cristobal said after the game. "We just kept battling, just kept on just finding a way and until we finally got the momentum and making a couple plays that were the difference in the game. So, a lot to cover, so I won't even start."

Miami Has the Chance to Be Ranked No. 1 for the First Time Since 2002

All eyes are on the polls after the chaos this weekend. Now, those rankings don't matter to Cristobal or the Hurricanes, but the newest polls will make a new case.

Miami could be the No. 1 team in the country for the first time since 2002. However, Mario Cristobal doesn't really care for those metrics.

“Well, I think we have a good enough sample size of 2026 to know that that's absolutely insignificant and irrelevant with the changing of the guard from week to week," Cristobal said. "Just has no value, you know, to our processes and whatnot. I'll focus on the real one that's important, 1-0.”

Miami Trailed the Longest They Have All Season, And Still Pulled Through

Miami has played so well that it was shocking that it was a game in most people's eyes.

However, these are rivalry games; anything can happen. Games like this happen; not winning in a strong fashion and trailing was a new part of the season that Miami had to adapt to, learn, and find a way to win.

Miami did, and it was because they all believed in each other and found a way.

"I like to quote a great mentor of mine, Dick Tomey, the late Dick Tomey, who was an incredible, incredible mentor, used to always say, you know, when your team is right in the heads are right in the hearts there's no bad play," Cristobal said.

"There's no injury, there's no swing of momentum, no penalty. There's nothing that you can't overcome, and we created a lot of our issues tonight, and Florida State made a lot of plays tonight as well. And we just kept coming. And the energy was changing bit by bit by bit and everybody had a hand in it.

"You know, there were lots of guys that, you know, most of them I played a lot, but some other guys that got some more significant downs. I thought it was great to see Jordan Lyle tonight run hard the way he did. It certainly was a factor in the game, and [Javian] Mallory as well along with Mark.

On the End of the Game "Drama"

Many times before, Miami has been on the side of questionable calls that have gone either way in Hail Mary attempts. This time, they were favored with a holding call and an interception to close out the game.

For Miami, it was another great game, while others thought Florida State got robbed. Cristobal was just happy with the win.

"I saw the flag, so I felt it was, you know, more than likely a hold," Cristobal said. "Um, but as while they call it touchdown and we're waiting for the flag, it's just, you know, on there, hey, defending two and offense, hey, get ready because now it's all two-point conversion.

"So processoriented. I mean, we don't, you know, you just wait for them to talk it over, figure it out, then you go. Butthere's no there's no there's no drama during it for us, you know. It's like, does it like and does it suck moment?Yeah. Like it sucks, but it's like quickly processing and getting to the next thing necessary to move on. And that's the way we roll.

"I thought Bryce went up and snatched that thing and pulled it into his lap," Cristobal said. "So, but I know we've sat in the stadium before, right, on a couple of those. Let's uh let's try not to make that a habit going forward, right?"

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