Everything Mario Cristobal Said After Dominant Victory over No. 22 Pitt

No. 12 Miami is fighting for its playoff life, and thanks to another win, it will look like one of the best teams in the country.

The Hurricanes have back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time since 2002-2003, but all attention is on Mario Cristobal post-game and everything he has to sell to the committee.

Here is everything Cristobal said post game:

Post-Game with Kris Budden

"Well, the fact that this is a college football playoff team. I think we've all seen it. We know it. Proud of the way our guys came out, dominated from start to finish, and certainly we left a lot of points on the board as well. But you know, we're really starting to click. We're getting some guys healthy. We still didn't have our top corner back, and he's going to be back in about a week. Our defensive tackle was still out. So we're looking at even getting way better here in the next couple weeks."

"Complete dominance," Cristobal added. "A team that just we've got great players in all phases, and we're playing great football in all phases. And you know what the best part about football? You get to settle it on the field, where head-to-head is always the number one criteria for anything regarding athletics and football."

Opening Statement...

"I thought we dominated from the beginning to the end, and it kind of fits what we've been doing as a football program. We're playing our best and getting our healthiest year towards the end of the year. I know I think we might not score on our first try, but I think we scored our next five possessions, if I'm not mistaken. The defense after the one score they allowed really a couple miscommunications. Just after that, allowed a total of eight first downs, again, just playing our best football right now, and really physical, won the line of scrimmage, put pressure on their quarterback, forced them in some really difficult third down situations. I think they were 4 of 13. And you know, everybody wanted to see how Miami would do in the cold weather on the road against a top 25 team. And I think we answered those questions very clearly."

On his case to the College Football Playoff committee...

"Well, I mean, I would say a lot. I mean, at the end of the day, it's not only do we pass the eye test, we pass the field test, right? Especially as it relates to playing this brand of football down the stretch and in head-to-head competition versus others that are being judged in the same little pool that we are as well. Plus, we're getting healthy. No one ever talked about, you know, the value of that in the middle of the season when we got banged up, with six, seven starters going down, and now we're almost all the way back. Our quarterback is playing, hard to compare anybody else in the country playing the kind the caliber of football that he's playing, our defensive and offensive lines have been absolutely dominant, and they showed it from game one all the way to the game now, forcing opponents to have their worst graded performances against our fronts. So I think all that stuff, just it speaks loudly. And again, it's not only eye test, it's the field test."

On the defensive line...

"Physicality. I mean, I think it's worth mentioning, also, they ran the ball for a total of 30 yards. I know there's some subtracted yards there with sacks, but it starts with that, right? Making them as one-dimensional as we can. They're a really good football team. They're very well coached. They're very talented. They got a lot of good players, and their quarterback is one of the best we've seen. We knew we were going to have to create pressure and penetration up front to disrupt him, get him out of his rhythm, and we knew we were going to have to play some man coverage as well. So just really proud of the effort. Again, we had that one miscommunication during that one drive. But aside from that, I think that defense has put together as good of a resume as anybody in the country, and our offense is now doing the same thing as well. So, fun day. A lot of fun out there today, these guys came in. We were the most excited team on the field, is what we felt. And we knew that we had to, you know, everybody, again, always questions Miami. And this is a beautiful day, you know. And I'm a huge Steelers fan. I mean, I'm the biggest Steelers fan you could ever imagine. Okay, so it was awesome being out here, and awesome being able to play."

On DE Rueben Bain...

"He's the best defensive player in college football. And I would say Akheem Mesidor too. I would put them battling for it to see who gets it. And again, it's not just what he does on games. That's what he does the entire offseason, what he does leading up to the week of preparation and through the week. And he just disrupts everything. You try to run the ball at him, he's going to defeat blocks. You try to run away from him, he's going to chase you down. You try to double-team him, well, you better be secure in that. And you also are going to free up somebody else. And when you single block him, you know he has so many different counters and pass rush moves and his capabilities. Can't say enough great things about him. And, you know, looking forward to playing some more football with these guys."

On the message to the team...

"Awesome job. That's the most important thing, is how proud we are of them, how we overcame some injuries to play our best football here down the stretch. Especially when people want to compare our results versus an opponent with other college playoff hopeful teams. Everything they said they would do, they came out and did, and they're excited. That's an excited that's an excited bunch. They're they're celebrated. They're having a good time in there. They respect our opponent. They respect every opportunity we have, and we're looking forward to our next one."

On his team's energy after the win...

"I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I mean, we're a very high energy operation, and they were having so much fun executing at a high level. We always want to encourage that sometimes we forget that football is a sport and a game, and it's supposed to be fun. And they've played their best football, having a lot of fun. We want to make it a point to show that we can go on the road against the top 25 team. I believe we played 1,2,3, 4, top 25 teams, whatnot, and had an opportunity to play them in a different climate, which, again, I think it's the funniest thing in the world that Miami can't travel and play when it drops below 60 degrees. We can't mimic those conditions back home. I mean, we have an indoor that's set at like 62, so all in all, just very, very, very proud of the way our guys handle their business and the way they showed up on the field today."

On Carson Beck's interception...

"Yeah, yeah, slipped out of his hand, though. That wasn't like a throw he was trying to get there. That one slipped. That ball got a little bit slick there at the end, but he made up for it right after. And you know what also very important for CJ [Daniels] to get confidence in his you know, he's coming back from injury, and again, he showed what he does. So I think that was very, very important. You can't let in a game, in like that. Carson's played too well. The offense played too well. CJ is coming back from injury. They're moving the ball, they're trying to score, they're calling a timeout on defense, so you know, I ain't having that crap, you know what? I mean. It's our job to go play as well as we can."

On WR Malachi Toney breaking the freshman receiving record...

"Are you surprised? Nobody else is right. All year long, his dedication, his natural talent, and his game day approach and performances have been absolutely awesome. So Mali is just getting started. There isn't a better freshman in the country. There might not be a better and more exciting player in the country right now than Malachi Toney and it's fun to be around. He does it all. Got another touchdown pass, right? He beat Carson on his [quarterback rating] today."

On how much College Football he will watch today with Miami needing some help...

"I mean, yeah, I always watch. I always watch. We're always gonna be watching, but we watch every game. You know, every single one of us has those apps where you can watch those multiple games at a time, type of thing. So looking forward to watching some football. But most importantly, we did what we had to do. Okay, flat out did it. Eye test, field test."

On when he knew Malachi Toney would be the focal point of the offense...

"Yeah, there was one opponent that they trailed him, they bracketed him, and did all kinds of stuff. He's a really hard guy to defend. And, offensively, we could move pieces around. It's not like cookie-cutter, the slots always here and the X is always there. And we did a lot of things over the last several weeks. We had a lot of tackle over formations, which we hadn't shown. Alex Bauman, big game by him today, both blocking and receiving. You know, Keelan Marion continues to play really high-level football. Jojo [Trader] had a really big catch. Mark [Fletcher], and [Girard] Pringle, Marty [Brown], all those guys had really good runs. Great check down on Marty as well. I mean, in this offense, I'm looking at the guys, Pringle, Fletcher, Toney Brown, Bauman, Daniels, Marion. I mean, it keeps going on and on, the guys that touched the ball today. So I know it was a question that was really different than the answer was supposed to give you. But you know what I mean? Yeah, you know the hot hand, right? When the hand is hot, you got to get it to him."

On the ACC getting wins over SEC teams this weekend...

"Yeah, I just think people got to stop bullshitting and just trying to place value on conferences, you know what I mean? There's a lot of really good football teams in all conferences, especially the ACC. We've proven it, you know, glad to see a team like Louisville, down to their fifth back and down their receiver. There's a lot of really good with a lot of great quarterbacks in this league as well, which people don't give enough credit to. So and a lot of teams handling their business. And I know Georgia Tech had a really close one last night as well. So it just shows that the parody in college football is real now. Through the portal, to NIL through people retiring, and conferences having a different balance to new hires, and other conferences like the ACC, and teams just building different and establishing really just high winning percentage blueprints and regimens, and all that is coming into play now. And that's why I think you see so many close games, and then so many things tilt in a direction where they weren't maybe 5-10, years ago."

On S Jakobe Thomas...

"He loves to hit. He was made for football. I mean, that guy lives for collisions, and he's a great tackler. He came here, we needed an enforcer back there. We needed a guy to come to Miami and really set the tone, like so many great safeties that have been through this program before, and Jakobe Thomas has not disappointed. In fact, he's been awesome. He's excelled. He's a great teammate. He's a hard worker. Looking forward to playing more football with him."