Arguably no team has been more impressive relative to expectations in college football this year than the Miami football program, who started off their season with a bang against Notre Dame and haven't looked back since, currently sitting at 4-0 after last week's win over the Florida Gators. Miami is coached by Mario Cristobal, who has remarkably cooled off his hot seat ever since the kneel debacle against Georgia Tech in 2023.
Before Miami, Cristobal spent time with several schools, including Nick Saban and the Alabama football team, where he was the recruiting coordinator, among other roles. Recently, Cristobal had jokes about his time with Saban during an interview with On3 Sports.
“Probably didn't pay me enough for getting him all those players (at Alabama),” said Cristobal, per JD PicKell of On3 Sports on X, formerly Twitter.
Cristobal also served as an assistant head coach as well as the offensive line coach during his time in Tuscaloosa.
A great start for Miami football
Coming into this season, the big question for Miami football was how they would go about replacing Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback Cam Ward, who was taken number one overall in the NFL Draft this past spring by the Tennessee Titans.
The answer to that question came in the form of Carson Beck, the former Georgia football quarterback who initially threw his own hat into the NFL Draft pool but then reconsidered and transferred to Miami. Beck has gotten off to a solid start for the Hurricanes this year, helping them pick up some impressive victories, including most notably against Notre Dame to open up the season.
Overall, Miami looks to be a lot more balanced on both sides of the ball this year than they were a season ago, even if they don't necessarily have a dynamic talent like Ward manning the quarterback position.
In any case, up next for the Hurricanes is their biggest test of the year thus far, a road game against Florida State, which will occur on October 4. This week, Miami football is on a well-earned bye.
