The FSU Seminoles were unable to snap their losing streak against the Miami Hurricanes, losing for the third straight time against their rival on Saturday. The Seminoles pushed them to the brink, but ultimately fell 43-35 in double overtime.
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal played for the Hurricanes and admitted after the game that this game means something special to him.
"I love this game," he said. "Best game in the country. My favorite game of the year."
Cristobal went 3-1 against the Seminoles as a player and is now 3-2 as the head coach of the Hurricanes. He also explained what it meant to the players in the locker room, even those who were unable to play on Saturday night.
"In there, I think there was a lot of gratitude for the guys that laid it on the line," he said. "There's some guys that are missing that would love to take part in this game. And they're sitting there with us, right? Some guys are on crutches. Some guys are in a sling.
"And when you get to play in this game, right, this special rivalry, it means a lot to everybody. And to find a way to win like we did, it speaks loudly to the fact that this team has the confidence, despite issues that we found ourselves in. We can find a way to, you know, find a way to win."
Cristobal also thanked the sell-out crowd, talked about his team's resilience, the controversial calls in overtime, and more. Read his full comments below.
Opening Statement
First and foremost, I just want to thank the crowd. They were incredible tonight. They certainly were a factor. That type of a showing, our players appreciate it. Alumni, I appreciate it. And certainly all the recruits here today got a chance to see what Hard Rock looks like. Full force.
And then credit to Florida State. They certainly played their tails off. And credit to our guys. Because, I can sit here and rattle off a million mistakes and errors that we need to correct, But we just kept playing. We just kept battling. We just kept on just fighting away.
Until we finally got the momentum. And then making a couple plays that were the difference in the game. So, a lot to cover.
On potentially being the No. 1 team in the country
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. I don't see it as a... I mean, I honestly really don't.
It just has no value to our processes and whatnot. But, you know, I'll focus on the real one, the ones that are important, the 1-0.
On Bryce Fitzgerald
Yeah, we thought he was hurt pretty bad early in the game. We went out there, and we checked it out. He didn't want to be held back, came back out.
He was all over the field. I mean, that's not the only play he made. He gets us in right checks, does a lot of stuff back there that's sometimes unseen. But almost came up with another big play as well. But found a way to get that ball. That was a hell of a contested catch by him. So, lots of love for Bryce Fitzgerald.
On the offense turning it around in the fourth quarter
I hate to be generic, but execution. You look at some of the blocks that could have been finished. You look at some of the holes that could have been hit.
That's some of the reads that could have been made more efficiently and on point. We were very out of character for a large part of this game. And when that happens, you’ve got to continue to keep playing. You've got to find your way back.
You've got to regain your focus on what has allowed you to be successful. It doesn't always just end up being perfectly synchronized. You've got to just keep working until it does.
And we found ourselves working our way back. And then we get hit with a play and go into overtime. That's when your pride and your strength and conditioning program have to take over. A lot of stuff to fix and a lot of positives.
On the resilience of his team
You know, you've had a trail for the longest period of any game so far this year. And you guys still battle back. They're able to stick with it and come back a little bit over time.
Yeah, I like to quote a great mentor of mine, Dick Tomey, who was an incredible metaphor. He used to always say, ‘When your team is right, the heads are right, the hearts are right. There's no bad play, there’s no injury, there's no swing of momentum, no penalty. There's nothing that you can't overcome.’
We created a lot of our issues tonight. Of course, they made a lot of plays tonight as well. And we just kept coming. The energy was changing, bit by bit by bit, and everybody had a hand in it. There were lots of guys, most of them that has played a lot, but some other guys that got some more significant down.
I thought it was great to see Jordan Lyle tonight, run hard the way he did. It certainly was a factor in the game. Mallory as well, along with Mark. I could go on and on, but I’ll stick to the question.
On Mark Fletcher’s status
Yeah, he got banged up. I think he's okay. He kind of finished. Mark’s as tough as nails; there’s nothing that’s going to keep him out.
On if this is why he emphasizes his 1-0 mantra, makes it a core part of the program
I don’t know if it’s all that. We don’t have any slogans on the walls. We don’t create stuff just to create it. We really pride ourselves on showing up and going to work and doing the things that are necessary to keep our feet in the ground.
Mentally grounded as well. Just focus on getting better. You want to know how. You know, it's not directly. There's no looking past. There’s nothing about looking ahead.
The bottom line is, you’ve seen enough. We've seen enough this week and throughout the course of college football every year. And now even more so. The transfer portal changes things. Everybody has good players.
You think you're going to show up, and it's automatically win, you're going to get your ass beat. You know they have good players, and everyone here knows when these two teams get together, it's a bloodbath. And they’d rather, you know, you have to be carried off to quit before you give in a game like this.
There's no tap button in games like this. And I love this game. Best game in the country. My favorite game of the year. I don’t know if I answered your question.
On the emotion in the locker room
In there, I think there was a lot of gratitude for the guys that laid it on the line. There's some guys that are missing that would love to take part in this game. And they're sitting there with us, right? Some guys are on crutches. Some guys are in a sling.
And when you get to play in this game, right, this special rivalry, it means a lot to everybody. And to find a way to win like we did, it speaks loudly to the fact that this team has the confidence, despite issues that we found ourselves in. We can find a way to, you know, find a way to win.
On Darian Mensah
Yeah, you know, we talked about there db’s, their db’s close on the ball on film probably a bit better than the ones we had been playing against. And there were some extended plays where he made some great plays, another one where they got us, picked it.
But I think this, and I think we've all seen it, Darian is about as resilient and as tough as it gets. The guy has football amnesia where he’s not caught up in the previous play. He’ll do his little thing for his boys, his mini celebration. That's it. It's on to the next one.
And that type of focus. I know you guys are not privy to the things that are said, talked about between series and what not, but this guys is a special cat now. It's all, completely all focused on what's the next thing we have to do. Whether it's a run or pass. It's just how do we keep finding the way to move the ball and win the game.
On the emotions of the final sequence
I mean, I saw the flag. So I thought more than likely it was a hold. But as, while they call a touchdown and we're waiting for the flag, it's just, you know, it’s defending two and offense ‘hey get ready’ cause now it’s all two-point conversions, so process-oriented. Just wait for them to talk it over and figure it out. There's no drama during it for us, you know.
It's like, does it suck moment? Yeah, it sucks, but it's quickly processing and getting to the next thing that’s necessary and move on.
On if he was confident the interception would stand
I was, I thought Bryce went up and snatched that thing, pulled it into his lap. But I know we’ve sat in this stadium before, right, on a couple of those, so let’s try not to make that a habit moving forward.
Follow us @FSUWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: What Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said after beating FSU