Mario Cristobal Gives First Insights on No. 6 Notre Dame
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Coral Gables, Fla. — In typical Mario Cristobal fashion, he doesn't like to talk about an opponent months in advance, even when it is one of the biggest games of his career staring him right in the face.
The saying is always the same: "focus on today."Now with week one here for the 2025 season, Crisotbal has his full attention on No. 6 Notre Dame as he prepares his team for the historically massive matchup.
He knows the pressure that is on him and this program heading into this game. He also knows that the Fighting Irish are one of the best teams in the country.
“You have to acknowledge good players where they have them,” Cristobal said Monday morning on WQAM’s The Joe Rose Show. “I mean, this is a team that played national championship and was really a drive away from winning the national championship.
"They return 11 of those starters and replaced some of the departed ones with starters from other places, so they have great players. [But] I don’t think you ever, ever shy away from doing your absolute best game planning and execution with the players that you have. We have trust and confidence in our players, and we’re going to go play our best football.”
Cristobal's game plan this season is a simple one — stop the run and punch everyone else in the face with a smash-mouth rushing attack. The Miami Hurricanes were third in the country last season in yards per carry, and he looks to transition that to this season.
“You’ve always got to be able to run the ball and stop the run,” Cristobal said. “If you can’t do that, then you’re going to get gutted."
He also highlighted the quarterback questions that the Irish have heading into this game. Redshirt freshman CJ Carr has been named the starting quarterback, but Cristobal is preparing for anything that could be thrown at him in this game.
But as to their quarterbacks, they have talented quarterbacks. We know one’s been named a starter, and obviously [has] a tremendous amount of talent, and he’s bolstered by a massive offensive line, but they have a couple really good quarterbacks. In Game 1, you prepare for everything by just sticking to making sure that your systems and your processes are in place and you’re repping like crazy.”
The key for Mario Cristobal is execution. He will be going up against one of the best minds in college football as his chest match with Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman awaits.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for the Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at Twitter @Justice_News5.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.
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