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Mario Cristobal Reviews What Did and Didn't Work Against Notre Dame
Aug 31, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA;Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal before the game at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes are starting to turn many people's heads in teh college football world as they seem to be one of the best teams in the country. After Upseting No.6 Notre Dame, the Canes are looking at the film and seeing what worked and what didn't work against the Fighting Irish.

Head coach Mario Cristobal liked what he saw out of his groups against ND. There is still some work to be done, but there were instant improvements everywhere compared to last season's team

Reviewing The Film...

"First of all, you assess what you did well, what you didn't do well. And those things, if it's not good enough in a loss, it shouldn't be good enough in a win. So always be completely just straight up and honest with ourselves all the time. And then also continue to take a deep dive into several positions that had some really thick competition of guys that maybe edged out somebody else, but those guys are still in contention for more significant roles, for even attaining a starting spot. Keeping those battles alive, that's only going to make us better. And it's very thorough. I mean, top to bottom, we analyze every bit of it, every single bit of it, and we feel that going into week two, there are a good amount of those battles that will continue to take place."

How the Team Handled Adversity During Bust and the Comeback...

"I do feel that their care factor for the game, for their performance and for each other is extremely high. We felt that as this team started coming together more towards the beginning of the summer, and that they're very driven to the level of they refuse to let anything get in the way of getting the job done.

That really stands out, because as you watch film, even when there was a bust, you see 11 guys trying to fix it. If a guy missed a block, you see a running back, just turning those legs man, trying to find a way to get that first down or get an extra yard, or guys trying to stick in their move out, like on the touchdown. So I think those things really stick out, and they're going to have to right? Because every single week, in essence, is a playoff game, and I think our guys are understanding that aspect more and more."

On the Secondary Improvement...

They did a really good job, obviously, forcing the one turnover, and forced a couple of plus ones or no gain plays. The one time when the ball got out on us was when the nickel has to force. He is the force player on that, and the ball gets outside of that track corner, the safeties trying to come back over the top and make the play. But he's supposed to force that. Aside from that, I thought we were we played good, physical football with our best football ahead of us.

"Technically, we're good. Use our hands well, bended at the knees. Got good extension, lockout, shed the blockers well, block destruction was very prevalent, both at the line of scrimmage, inside and on the perimeter."

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.

This article first appeared on Miami Hurricanes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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