No. 12 Miami Prepare for "Real Football Weather" Against No. 22 Pitt
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — At its coldest this year, South Florida has reached 40 degrees at night with a nice fall-like breeze in the morning. This is a rare occurrence here, but where No. 12 Miami (9-2, 5-2) is heading in the final game of the season, they are walking into a potential tundra.
The Hurricanes are preparing for their first real cold game of the season. Against Viringia Tech, it was around 62 degrees, and some players were unsatisfied with how the weather was. Notably, quarterback Carson Beck.
Beck likes the idea of playing in the cold because "that's real football weather". Against the Panthers, he will get his wish as he prepares to continue his hot streak of great games since SMU.
That's real football weather," Beck said. " I mean, I feel like we haven't played in any cold weather this year, really. I was expecting Virginia to be a little bit colder when it wasn't, I was kind of disappointed, to be honest.
"You know, I think sometimes that cold weather and that chill gives you, like an extra little grip on the football and, again, it's just it's November, right? You know, it's November. It's getting the playoff time, right? These games mean the most. I remember what you do in November, everyone knows that saying, but, again, it's football weather. We're excited. We're looking forward to it. We're just ready to go compete."
However, not everyone is a fan of the weather. Star defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor grew up in the cold in Ontario, Canada, but he has grown accustomed to the Sunshine State's weather. He has no problem playing in the cold; he would prefer not to be.
"I'm not looking forward to it, but I've done it before, and it's nothing to be worried about," Mesidor said. "Yeah, it depends where you are, how you grew up, and where you grew up. I'm not a fan of it. It's an issue, no."
Miami head coach knows that this is the perfect test for his team and how they can truly respond.
You're going up north, the temperature is different. It's November," Mario Crisotbal said. 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."
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.