- 9 minutes ago
Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal joins The Joe Rose Show following an electric 38-35 victory to push the Canes to 8-0. Cristobal breaks down Darian Mensah's clutch execution, Mark Fletcher Jr.'s key plays, the defensive stops led by Marquise Lightfoot, and how the team is blocking out the national noise as College GameDay and Notre Dame come to town.
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00:002.37 to go. Second down and six. Lightfoot and Scott teamed up on a sack and a fumble recovery.
00:06Mallory's been in the backfield here with a game on the line. Loft and tight left. Briggs a wing to
00:12the right. Slot right with Tony.
00:15Here's the snap. Play fake. Mallory fires. Tony got it. Three, two, one. Touchdown! Touchdown Malakai Tony from Darian Mensah.
00:26Mensah spellbinding performance on Halloween. And it's Malakai Tony. A tornado of destruction.
00:36And Miami has the lead on Carolina with 2.33 to go. 37 to 28.
00:48All right, y'all. It's out sounded on Saturday night. It's time to head out to the Toyota of Hollywood.
00:52Online shop over 2,000. Toyotas on sale. One location. Toyota of Hollywood on 441 between Hollywood and SheridanToyotofHollywood.com.
01:00All right. Always fun on Monday morning after the Canes get a win. 38-35.
01:06And a wild one. A wild one. Canes 8-0.
01:10And now the big Notre Dame week. We'll get into that in just a minute.
01:14We bring in Mario Cristobal this morning. Coach, first of all, and the most important thing, congratulations on the win.
01:20Good morning, Joe. 1-0.
01:22Yeah, 1-0. Hey, I think the world's got that message from you, man.
01:28One play, one game at a time. Boy, I'll tell you what.
01:33What a wild one to go through that.
01:37And it comes down to you needed that takeaway.
01:41Marquise Lightfoot comes up, strips sack, and you guys recover it.
01:45And from there, get the 10-point lead.
01:48Talk about the end of that game a little bit there, Coach, and what's going through and what you're thinking
01:54at that point.
01:55Yeah, well, when you head into the fourth quarter, and it really had become, you know, the generic term of
02:01back and forth, right?
02:02The entire, you know, the end of the first half and all the way through the third quarter, beginning of
02:07the fourth.
02:08And it was a matter of you just got to keep your guys playing as hard as they can, as
02:13well as they can.
02:13Because eventually, you're going to find a way where a play is going to come to you just by doing
02:18your job, right?
02:19And you're going to get the momentum.
02:20And once you get it, you got to be able to take it and finish the game.
02:23So, well, we were aggressive, right?
02:25We were in, you know, four-down, you know, mentality.
02:28And, you know, they made some plays, right?
02:30We missed some tackles.
02:32But we kept the pressure on them.
02:33They kept pressure on us.
02:34And we found a way to break through and finish it off there in the fourth quarter.
02:38I did like the way you guys really offensively will talk about here.
02:42Just from Mensa to, again, Malachi coming up with some huge plays late and just his numbers now.
02:51And I know you're not worried about numbers.
02:52But, boy, he is good for business.
02:55And I don't just mean for UM, but for college football, the way he's playing.
02:59And Mark Fletcher, just outstanding.
03:02And then what you got from Lofton, Mallory, and Barkate.
03:06It was nice to see everybody kind of get involved when you had chances.
03:10Yeah, everybody got a piece.
03:12You know, we went into the game thinking we're going to see some type of coverage that we haven't seen
03:17yet.
03:17I mean, we dug in an old Patriots film.
03:19We watched some bracket coverage.
03:22We watched some trail coverage.
03:24We watched everything possible to see what they were going to do in their approach to Malachi.
03:28And then, you know, we scripted and planned for that and around that as well.
03:32And knowing that everybody was going to have to be involved, everyone did.
03:35And the offensive line stepped up big time as well.
03:37And you know what stepped up also?
03:39Mensa with his feet.
03:40And did a great job taking off.
03:42Got some chunk plays, some chunk yardage, an extended series by running the ball.
03:47And all in all, just a really great performance by the offense.
03:49Did you feel, just watching, it looked like they wanted to make sure there were no big splash plays.
03:55They were okay with the first downs.
03:58I thought, especially on that first drive, just the way you guys were able to go down and keep getting
04:03first downs and getting enough.
04:05And good, safe plays that worked.
04:07And staying out of third and long situations.
04:10And being able to run when you worked two or three yards from a first down.
04:14I just thought that really got this thing off to a really good start on the road.
04:18Yeah, I mean, either post safety, you know, umbrella coverage, keeping everything in front.
04:22And then some split safety stuff as well, where you have to do a good job running the football.
04:26And I thought the cat and mouse game that Coach Dawson played with them was awesome.
04:31Really well planned out.
04:32Called it really well.
04:34And our guys executed.
04:35I believe we had one pre-snap penalty going into the last series of the game.
04:39Which was a big thing.
04:39Because they were the least penalized team in the conference and third in the country.
04:43And we ended up being the least penalized team on Saturday.
04:46I thought the biggest number of the game, man.
04:47You guys, as much as we throw it and throw it around.
04:52And guys' ability to run after a hit.
04:54Whether it's contact, running the ball.
04:56You have zero turnovers in that game.
04:58That's probably, I know it sounds kind of crazy.
05:00And a lot of folks don't like to hear about takeaways and giveaways.
05:04But I thought that was huge offensively.
05:06Zero turnovers in that game.
05:08No doubt.
05:09In a game where everyone's trying to steal a possession, right?
05:11Or limit the other team's possessions.
05:13A sudden possession game, Joe.
05:14We scored six times.
05:15They scored five times, right?
05:16And what's the difference at the end?
05:18Being the least penalized team and forcing that turnover.
05:21So, I got this all day yesterday at the Dolphin game.
05:24A lot of Canes fans there.
05:25And they're going, hey, Joe.
05:26Can we fix enough things?
05:27We're playing Notre Dame now.
05:29And how many things can Mario switch and stuff?
05:31I go, man, this is a group of guys they have.
05:33They just got to clean it up.
05:36Coach, what did you see?
05:37And I know right after the game you're asked this without seeing every play and being on the sideline.
05:42Is this more of a pass rush thing?
05:44Is it coverage?
05:45Are they just isolating guys that aren't good cover guys with their best receivers?
05:49What are you seeing?
05:51I see detail and execution and communication, which stands out.
05:56And we didn't tackle well.
05:57You know, and we've done some really good things in the form of tackling.
06:00But, you know, when there was a lot of space, checking the ball down and getting the ball to the
06:05boundary on screen plays,
06:06they forced a lot of missed tackles.
06:08And we've got to do a better job there.
06:10And, you know, Joe, the world of coaching is a world of adaptation, correction, enhancement, right?
06:15You've got to find answers and solutions.
06:17You don't live in a world of concern or panic.
06:20You just keep finding ways to get better, remedy things.
06:22And we have the ability to find answers, and we've got to get there.
06:26And we have throughout the course of the last couple of years.
06:29And we'll continue to forge forward with the guys we have and some of the guys that are finding their
06:33way on the field as well.
06:35So how much of it pass rush?
06:37I know you talked about after the game, combination of everything.
06:41Pass rush, one-on-ones, not just blitzes.
06:44And got a great blitz to start the game.
06:46Just a huge blitz from Dunnigan.
06:49It just – I didn't know the guy was going to stay in the game.
06:51I mean, he got popped on that play, and you guys were able to get off the field.
06:56How was the pass rush for you and what you're seeing?
07:00Well, there are guys winning, and we've just got to close on the quarterback.
07:02You know, at the end of the day, you can win your one-on-ones,
07:05but if the guy steps up, slides left, right, right, and takes off with the ball
07:09or buys time and gets the ball down the field, then, you know,
07:12and that's the theme of college football, right?
07:14Quarterbacks that can extend plays, it reigns supreme, man.
07:18So if you do win, right, when you get your one-on-ones, and we have won a good number
07:22of them,
07:23is you've got to finish on the quarterback.
07:25And all these quarterbacks can move.
07:26They're all athletic.
07:27Yes.
07:29And you can't, you know, spend your entire existence committing the guy to spy on the quarterback
07:33because it's one less in coverage.
07:34So, again, you've got to continue to work and get better, collapse pockets, and get home.
07:41I think Heatherman's really good, obviously.
07:43Everybody feels that way about his abilities as defensive coordinator.
07:47He wouldn't be on your staff right now.
07:49But I always wonder, you worry about confidence, especially when you're going on in that game,
07:53and they just, you can't get a stop, and how do you get guys to like,
07:57hey, hey, let's just keep going.
07:59We're in great shape.
08:00We've got a great offense.
08:01All we've got to do is get one stop, and we'll be fine.
08:04No, I think the world's got to wake up and stop subscribing
08:08so that teams are supposed to blow people out all the time.
08:10It doesn't work that way.
08:11These are good teams.
08:13Look across the country.
08:14The rate of people winning around the country at a high level and sustaining is down a bunch,
08:20and the level of top 25 teams getting knocked down is at an all-time high.
08:23And why?
08:24Because there's a portal, there's NIL, and there's a lot more parity.
08:28So you know what?
08:29Other people have really good coaches too.
08:31Bill Belichick kind of has a little bit of experience, and so does Bobby Petrino.
08:34And you know what?
08:35They've got good players.
08:36A tight end, an NFL player.
08:37They've got some NFL offensive linemen.
08:39They've got really good running backs, receivers, and you know what?
08:42Their defensive line is good.
08:44So do you want to perform better?
08:46Absolutely.
08:46That's always the case.
08:47You want to dominate every opportunity.
08:49But let's also not take away from what football is, right?
08:52It's a competitive game that has to be won on the field.
08:54Yeah.
08:55No, no, no.
08:55We see it every week, by the way.
08:57I mean, you've been playing these 7 o'clock games.
08:58So we're watching those 12 o'clock and 4 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 4 o'clock games.
09:03And we've got a lot of games coming right down to the wire and teams that aren't ranked for whatever
09:09that's worth beating top 10 teams.
09:11And it happens every week.
09:13And, you know, Ohio State lose their starting quarterback, and they lose to USC.
09:19And this is going on, by the way, every week, as you said.
09:22So it's an interesting one.
09:24So what do you – I'm always curious.
09:25So you get the team back together.
09:27I mean, you're 8-0, man.
09:28You can't – what do you say to everybody as you get set for this Notre Dame game?
09:33What's the message?
09:35What's the message?
09:36Well, you know, behind closed doors, we're pretty edgy, so we really don't share much of that stuff.
09:40But we accomplished our 1-0, and now it's all focused on the next opportunity to be at our best
09:46to accomplish 1-0.
09:47And we get into the details of everything.
09:49The things – first we go around the country and look at the different things we can learn from, right?
09:53End-of-game situations, before-the-half situations, penalties that have hurt teams, right?
09:59Just learning by watching, so hopefully we don't have to learn by consequence.
10:03And then we jump into us, right?
10:05The stuff that we did well, the stuff that we need to get better at, and the stuff that's unacceptable.
10:09You know, and then really find – not the splash plays, the touchdowns and whatnot, but the gritty plays, right?
10:15The plays that, you know, involve someone's extra effort that was unseen, unnoticed, but led to a first down,
10:21led to a, you know, a big play, a stop, or whatever it may be.
10:24And then we go full board to the opponent, and that's – I'd keep you on here forever, but I'll
10:29stop there.
10:30Yeah, no, no, listen, I got to tell you, everybody got a favorite player, too.
10:32They always stand out, you know, and that Mark Fletcher screen outside with all the guys out with him.
10:38I was waiting for somebody to come in motion back inside.
10:41You throw it.
10:42And it wasn't – it was the fact that Fletcher went untouched.
10:45The blocking out in front, he just ran down the sideline for 31 yards for the touchdown.
10:50Just a new wrinkle there that really worked.
10:53Talk about that play a little bit.
10:56Yeah, you know, just we were able to catch him, you know, on a quad set and threw it out
11:00there.
11:01And Mark actually had to make a guy's miss because they did have numbers, you know, to stop it.
11:05But Mark put a foot in the ground and made a guy miss and went.
11:08And, you know, we always try to find wrinkles.
11:10You know, we don't really talk about it much on here.
11:14Hey, Mallory, man.
11:17It's funny.
11:18He comes in, and I know it's funny.
11:19I actually saw Frank Gore Saturday morning, and I go, Frank, man, we got a guy.
11:25This Mallory kid, man, he is something else.
11:29Coach, you put him in there, and he is just a spark plug to go with all the other running
11:35backs you have.
11:36Does he do anything to surprise you?
11:38He just gets – he runs hard to start with, but just his ability to make big runs is unbelievable.
11:45Doing a really good job.
11:47Compliments Mark really well.
11:48I think Jordan Lyle also, you know, we got to get Pringle some touches.
11:52Well, he's a really good player.
11:54And we're, you know, we're really starting to gel up front.
11:56And I think the more we work together, the more we will see there's more opportunities there to be had.
12:01You know, there's creases.
12:04There's – again, we're just evolving.
12:07We're getting better.
12:08Proud of him.
12:09Proud of the rest of the guys.
12:09We just got to go back to get better.
12:11That's all.
12:11We got to get better.
12:12Hey, offensive line overall.
12:15I mean, a game like that, they look like they're playing a lot better.
12:18The more they play, you see that.
12:20I know a lot of the guys are young and playing for the first time, and as starters, you see
12:25that group coming together?
12:27Yeah, they protected really well.
12:29We ran the ball really well.
12:30They did a really good job up front.
12:32Hey, let me ask you this.
12:34So, they're a little whining afterwards, and the Canes get all the calls.
12:38I thought the onside – both those onside penalties were pretty clear-cut.
12:43Yes or no?
12:45Clear-cut, but they also – there's an error in there.
12:47Their player touched the ball both times before the ball went 10 yards, which really grants us possession on the
12:53spot right there, and the game's over.
12:55So, that was the only thing that was missed, but I think things get missed, you know.
12:58But it was the appropriate call.
13:00They were offside.
13:01They hit our guy before 10 yards, before the ball went 10 yards, and our guy was in that zone.
13:07There was a lot to unpack there, but certainly the calls were right, and the ones that were missed were
13:11actually ones that would have been in our favor.
13:13But this – on top of all the other hype, and I know your job's just to go out and
13:17win the game, but C.J. Carr now, a guy you saw last year, and you guys got after him
13:22pretty good, especially at the end of the game.
13:24What have you seen?
13:25A lot of people think he's right there with Mensah's two of the three top quarterbacks in the country right
13:30now.
13:31What do you see from C.J. Carr this year?
13:33Yeah, he's as good as any player in the game.
13:36They're a loaded team.
13:38I mean, they have projected, I think, 14 NFL draft picks.
13:43They've got 14 returning starters.
13:45He is very poised.
13:47He's incredibly athletic, accurate, can extend plays.
13:52He's – again, he's a top-shelf NFL draft pick quarterback.
13:56Yeah.
13:57Hey, by the way, speaking of what you said before about any given weekend, anything can happen.
14:04How about Syracuse taking down SMU on the last drive, too?
14:07I don't know how quickly you see that stuff, just to – what we were talking about.
14:11You know, everybody's trying to get into that conference championship game and get to those top two spots,
14:17and there you are, SMU in great shape, and Syracuse, who all of a sudden got a couple of wins
14:23here the last couple weeks
14:24that everybody counted out, and there they are.
14:28It's playoff football, man.
14:30When you're in conference, it's playoff football.
14:31And remember, teams need certain teams to lose, so you're not playing against one staff.
14:36You're playing against all the staff that need you to lose because everyone's sharing information,
14:39finding your holes, finding your warts, and that's ball, and that's the way ball's been for a million years.
14:44You know, so it's awesome.
14:46It's everything.
14:47Notice how the games get tighter and tighter as the season goes on,
14:50and now you enter November, and you're blessed if you're playing relevant football,
14:55something that relates to the big picture and whatnot.
14:58So the entire focus is on just shutting up, working hard, and getting better.
15:04All right, speaking of that and trying to keep the noise out, as you know,
15:08this is going to be the loudest week you've had all year.
15:10Game day is going to be there.
15:11You're on national TV, obviously, on NBC.
15:15It's going to be – everybody's going to be there, and everybody's looking to get a great story,
15:19whether it's a guy didn't know he was going to play against Notre Dame this week
15:23and all the other stuff.
15:26I don't know – how do you – and I know you hate noise more than any human being
15:32I've ever been around at coaches.
15:35How do you keep it out this week as you get set?
15:37You're going to hear everything from everybody possible, your team will.
15:41How do you block it out?
15:43Well, I don't think you block anything.
15:45You just – it's all about your focus, right?
15:47I mean, you don't have distractions.
15:50You either choose to take them on or not, right?
15:52The focus is on the work because, look, there's no telecast, broadcast, podcast
15:58that's going to make a single block or tackle or catch in this game, right?
16:02I mean, this game, especially in November, is about blocking, tackling, throwing,
16:07catching, running, protecting the football, playing with enthusiasm and excitement
16:11and physicality, right?
16:12Having pre-snap discipline, post-snap composure, and being able to cut it loose.
16:17So – and all that stuff has to be worked on on the field, on the green tree,
16:22has to be focused on in meetings and walk-through,
16:24and that's what you pour your energy into.
16:26That's – we don't – I really don't try to do anything special.
16:30You know, we just work, Joe.
16:31We just shut up and work, you know?
16:33You know what's great, though?
16:34Mario, you've seen this Notre Dame-Miami thing.
16:37I mean, it does have great history.
16:39You're going to see everyone going back from when you played to in recent years
16:43and some of the great finishes and some of the bad blood and the whole thing
16:47to really hype this thing up.
16:50And this is why guys come to the school.
16:54I mean, really.
16:54I mean, it's one of the reasons you come – you get to play games like this, right?
16:58To put Notre Dame on – I'd love to see you play Notre Dame every year,
17:02if that's possible or if that's going to happen.
17:05Be great.
17:06Yeah, again, it's why you come and play at Miami,
17:09to have an opportunity to test yourself against the very best out there.
17:13So, we're looking forward to getting the meetings and practice
17:16and working our butts off and doing everything that we do on a green tree
17:19on a weekly basis, just shutting up and going to work.
17:21Hey, by the way, something else happened in that game I loved.
17:24Your quarterback ran for two first downs in that first drive.
17:28What a great – just another thing for a coordinator for Notre Dame
17:32and anybody else you're playing the rest of the season to go,
17:35hey, now the guy, besides throwing accurate passes, is now running a little bit.
17:41Boy, I'll tell you what, that just adds a nice dimension to your game.
17:45Yeah, it's the hardest thing in college football.
17:47The defending quarterbacks that can also do with their legs
17:50as well as, you know, with their arm, their poise, their accuracy,
17:53and all that other stuff.
17:54So, again, and, you know, Darren was in here early yesterday.
17:58I don't know how much our guys slept, right?
17:59You get back at three or four.
18:01We got an hour back, though, which is good.
18:03But right to it and right back to work.
18:05And, you know, the best part is he came in and he's like, damn it,
18:09you know, that drive we didn't score.
18:11My first read is here and I should have gone there.
18:14And he leaves pissed off and ready to go to work
18:17because he wants to get better.
18:18So, looking forward to seeing him today and going to work.
18:21Yeah, no, it has been great to watch.
18:23And congratulations, 8-0.
18:25Good luck this week against Notre Dame.
18:27And, Coach, thanks for coming on.
18:29I appreciate it on a Monday.
18:31Thank you, Joe.
18:32Go Canes.
18:32Mario Cristobal, head coach for the Miami Hurricanes.
18:36Talking about 8-0.
18:3838-35.
18:40Huge.
18:41Marquise Lightfoot strip recovered by the Canes.
18:45And that ends up being the difference in the game.
18:49Notre Dame coming up.
18:51They're only lost to BYU.
18:53And here we go.
18:55The hype is on.
18:56It's CJ Carr versus Darren Mensah, right?
18:58That's going to be a big one.
19:00All right.
19:00We got to go to break.
19:01We got a lot more stuff to get to here this morning, man.
19:04We got to go to break.
19:04We got to � our MacBook.