Mario Cristobal Prepares His Team for the Frozen Tundra At Pittsburgh
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Weather hasn't been an issue this season for No. 13 Miami (9-2, 5-2 ACC). They have played most of their games in Florida and have only been north once in their last game against Virginia Tech. That game was only at 62 degrees at tipoff, but this South Florida team is walking into a different beast in their final game of the season.
The Hurricanes are traveling up to face the Pittsburgh Panthers at Noon with the temperature set to feel below freezing at kickoff. The latest forecast for Acrisure Stadium calls for temperatures in the low to mid-30s with wind chills in the upper 20s.
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal is preparing his team for this by being as honest as possible: It's going to be cold.
"You're just very open and honest about it," Cristobal said. "You're going up north, the temperature is different. It's November. This is football at its best, man, right? I mean, since the day you started watching football, you wish you could play in games like this, right? We're going to be on the same field, playing a team that's only with the same conditions, and even though we're at a different climate, it cannot and will not be a factor. There's between the gear that you use, between mentality and preparation. That's part of the ball. So our guys are really excited for it, and that should override everything else."
Cristobal is confident that his players will be ready to do. The weather won't be a factor. The only factor is the players across from his, and the Panthers are playing some of the best football in the country.
"Just really excited for this opportunity, unbelievable opportunity coming up this Saturday against a really, really good football team in Pittsburgh," Crisotbal said. "Just explosive players across the roster. I mean, they're top five, top 10, and top 15 in just about every offense and defensive category. Extremely disruptive on defense, up front, at the second level, they're really good at just creating chaos up front, negative plays, tackles for losses, interceptions, and actually have a good amount of pick-sixes as well.
"And on offense, certainly their quarterback heads up an unbelievable offensive surge for them. It starts with the offensive line. They're big, they're physical, they get downhill in the run game, as they showed this past week. And they do have some dynamic players across the board as well. A lot of energy. Going to be an awesome atmosphere. Really fired up to continue getting to work for this coming Saturday."
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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