Miami Hurricanes Coach Mario Cristobal Wants Annual Meeting With Florida Gators
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Another chapter of the storied Miami Hurricanes' rivalry with the Florida Gators was written Saturday night inside Hard Rock Stadium. To the delight of Hurricanes fans everywhere, this chapter of the book saw their team renew its bragging rights on the Gators.
Miami defeated the Florida Gators Saturday night 26 to 7 in a game that saw a thriving Hurricanes run game, but an underwhelming pass game. Carson Beck, who once had plans in high school to attend Florida as a dual-sport athlete, struggled to efficiently pass downfield. The quarterback finished with 160 passing yards, one interception, and zero touchdowns.
Running backs Mark Fletcher Jr. and CharMar Brown exhausted a tough Gators rush defense. The two backs combined for 42 carries and 196 rushing yards. Brown also led the team in receiving with 53 yards.
Cristobal wants to run it back
A win is a win. The Hurricanes may not have won exactly how they wanted too, but they walk into the bye week undefeated and with room to improve. Cristobal applauded what he saw out of this Gators team. He wants to see Florida on their schedule every season.
"We don't get to play these guys again. This game should be on the schedule every year. It is a shame that it isn't. We want to make sure we took advantage of the opportunity. "Cristobal on playing against Florida
The last time Miami played against Florida before last season was in 2019. The in-state rivals played annually from 1944 to 1987 before Florida dropped Miami from their annual schedule to explore more SEC opportunities. Florida State intensified their rivalry with both schools after 1987 to create the intense three-way rivalry you see between fans of each school every college football season.
Cristobal shows respect to Florida
"Our guys kept their composure when we got in a rut with the offense. The defense played off the charts football again...I like our progress. I love the fact that we are doing a much better job of blocking out the rat poison and we are focused on doing our job and doing it for each other and the University of Miami. We still have miles and miles to go."Head Coach Mario Cristobal
Cristobal knows their offense underwhelmed. He knows there was room for improvement. However, this doesn't mean he thinks Florida had nothing to do with their struggles. Cristobal gave lots of credit to this Florida team for the amount of talent they currently have.
"In the locker room, those guys are pretty fired up. This game means a lot to us and our alumni and the fanbase. We always felt that they are a talented team with a lot of good players. They have been a play or two away from being really good."Cristobal on Florida
He also stated how much this win means to his team and the fans. This is likely part of why Cristobal wants this game on the Hurricanes' schedule every single season.
Cristobal went further than just calling the Gators "talented". He broke down specifically what Florida was doing to stifle their passing game.
"I think Florida is really good in coverage and they spread the net wide. Their combo coverages and match coverages are difficult and they did a good job. They allowed one or two touchdowns in three games before us. You have to give them credit too."Cristobal giving credit to Florida
The history of Miami's rivalry with Florida
Miami captured their 31st win over the Gators Saturday night while the Gators have won 27 times. When the schools played each other annually, they used to play for a really interesting kind of trophy. Whichever school won the rivalry that year would win a real canoe carved by hand out of a tree. Miami's Sports Hall of Fame is home to the canoe today.
The canoe would move depending on which team one the rivalry on a given year but the Hurricanes conquered the final annual meeting between the teams in 1987. Therefore, the canoe has been in Miami since then.
Cristobal hopes some day this rivalry can be properly renewed in the form on an annual meeting.
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