COACH… “Not in a beauty pageant”

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal appeared on his weekly segment of The Joe Rose Show on WQAM-560 early Monday morning to share his thoughts his team including post-season goals as they prepare for the regular season finale at Pitt this final week.

Miami took care of business on Saturday at Virginia Tech, beating the Hokies by 17 points. Tech played hard but Miami was always in control of the game.

Was 34-17 enough to satisfy the CFP selection committee?

“I think it was great that a team came at us and we get to learn from it in a win and go get better,” said Cristobal.

On beating a team and earning style points…

"Our expectation during the game is every time we have the ball, we want to score and we are going to score,” said Cristobal. “Every time we are on defense, we are going to get a stop. That doesn't change.”

On scoring a lot of points…

“Our level of game control throughout this year is really high. In a game where you only have eight possessions and you score six times…imagine that is a game in which you have a normal 12 possessions and that is in the 50 point range.”

“We went out and controlled everything from the beginning until the end. Football is a game that is played on the field. It is not a beauty pageant. The more advocates that are out there for the game being played and settled on the field, especially now that we are playing some of our best football. All of us played the game and coached the game for results on the field. Not for beauty pageant points.”

Miami is 9-2, 5-2 ACC but must beat Pitt this week to get an opportunity to play for championships in the post season. Coach Cristobal realizes the challenge presented by the Panthers.

On the Pitt Panthers…

“They are arguably the most explosive offense right now in the country. They are first in the conference in touchdowns, scoring, passing yards, and their freshman running back comes in and rushes for 200 yards. Their explosive plays are off the chart. Everybody talks about their offense, and rightfully so, but their defense is really, really fast and explosive. They have some of the best tacklers I have seen thus far. They do a great job up front. Their linebackers are ballhawks and they close with tremendous speed. They have a lot of pick-sixes and turnovers. These guys are 6-1 in their last seven games and they are playing high level football.”

On the Canes’ chances to win a championship this season…

"Everyone wants to throw out different scenarios, but all that matters is winning. All that matters is being 1-0 this particular week.”

GO CANES!