Mario Cristobal makes bizarre comment on FSU RB Trey Benson
Florida State displayed zero mercy on Saturday night as the Seminoles walked out of Sun Life Stadium with a 45-3 victory. Miami connected on a field goal on its opening drive but couldn't sustain any success after that due to four turnovers and an injury to starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke.
The Seminoles took advantage and controlled the game on the ground. FSU racked up 229 rushing yards, the most that the Hurricanes have allowed to this point in 2022. Redshirt sophomore running back Trey Benson compiled a career-high 15 attempts for 128 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a pass for 25 yards.
Interestingly enough, Benson was one of two Seminoles (Mycah Pittman) to play for Miami head coach Mario Cristobal when he was at Oregon.
On Monday, Cristobal appeared on The Joe Rose Show on 560 WQAM to discuss the loss to Florida State and the remainder of the season.
While commenting on the Hurricanes' failure to consistently tackle Benson, Cristobal seemed to reference the running backs' success as a product of what he built with the Ducks. Benson gained 53 yards after contact on Saturday night per PFF. Check out Cristobal's comment for yourself.
"Tackling is technique, toughness, and physicality. Some guys showed up really, really well and other guys just did not," Cristobal said on Monday morning. "I'm very familiar with that running back. That is one of our running backs at Oregon [Trey Benson], to put it in perspective of the caliber of teams we are used to building. You know what I mean? Tackling and physicality is a mentality."
That's not how this works, Mario. Benson barely got an opportunity to contribute at Oregon due to a knee injury. You don't just get to interject on the young man's success now that he's thriving elsewhere.
Benson is leading the Seminoles with 87 carries for 611 yards (7 YPC) and five touchdowns this season. He's also caught 7 passes for 56 yards and returned a kickoff 93-yards for a score.
The Mississippi native is less than two years removed from a serious knee injury that could've ended his career. Benson tore his anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, lateral meniscus, medial meniscus and another tendon during a practice late in his true freshman season.
Following an extensive rehab process, he returned to record 6 carries for 22 yards (3.7 YPC) and a touchdown for Oregon in 2021. Benson transferred away from the program this offseason and has taken his game to another level in Tallahassee.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound running back has garnered ACC Player of the Week honors in each of Florida State's last two blowout victories. He's recorded two straight 100+ yard performances for the first time in his college career.
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