'Very Talented Football Team, Very Well-Coached Football Team': No. 4 Miami Prepares for Florida
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — No. 4 Miami (3-0) looks like a juggernaut heading into its week four matchup against the Florida Gators (1-2).
The Gators are a confusing team to gauge heading into this game. They have one of the best defenses in the country, but the inconsistency on offense holds them back from possibly being 3-0.
In the Hurricanes' minds, this is another ranked matchup that they are preparing for.
The worst type of team to face is a team that is wounded. A wounded animal is the most dangerous. Coach Mario Cristobal is prepared to face that animal as well as a "very talented football team, very well-coached football team."
"Size, speed, strength, good technique, and fundamentally, schematically challenging," Crisotbal said, describing what stands out to him about Florida. "Powerful at the line of scrimmage, heavily invested in the trenches, powerful at running back, speed at wide receiver, both inside and out, and length and size outside as well. Large secondary guys that can cover a lot of ground, a lot of length, multiple coverages, good at disguising coverages, and pressures. Dynamic returner on special teams. Very talented football team, very well-coached football team."
He also knows that the talent is there in Gainesville and can compete with the talent in the orange and green. That won't change the preparation and how hard the team is going to work. It is just another great opportunity for the team that is looking to do something incredible this season.
"The part that has to be respected most is their talent level, their coaching, their size, speed, and physicality," Cristobal said. "Schematically, they're very challenging in a lot of different ways. They've been playing elite defense for several games, dating back to last season. And offensively, they've been very close on several occasions to having some great performances. So it's very clear. They're an extremely talented team. They're well coached. They play hard. And for us, a great opportunity."
The Hurricanes are set to take on the Gators at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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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.