COACH… “ We all know what it means.”

It’s Hell Week! Miami vs FSU.

Head coach Mario Cristobal appeared on his weekly segment on The Joe Rose Show on 560 WQAM on Monday morning. He shared his thoughts on the rivalry game and the team’s preparation during the bye week.

On the bye week preparations…

"It starts with preparation. When you go on the road, you pack everything,” said Cristobal. “You pack your toughness, your communication, your resiliency, your physicality and you do your absolute best.”

On this rivalry…

"This is a rivalry we grew up wanting to be a part of and wanting to play in. We all know what it means. I don't talk about it much with the media because the focus has to be on the preparation. We just want to get to work and prepare for the game.”

On Carson Beck’s game readiness…

"He has to go with what he sees. He is on the field and he understands his connection with the wide receivers and the tight ends and backs. There is some improvisation and when it happens, most of the time it has worked out our way. We have to continue having confidence in our players.”

On Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor…

"We do feel like we are blessed with the best duo in the country…Bain is at 275 and he has the power of a three technique with the explosiveness of an edge guy. He has a large menu of pass rush moves while playing with the basic fundamentals that make you very strong and hold the point of attack and be stout. With Mesidor, some times I feel like that guy deserves a lot more credit, but he doesn't care about that. Mesidor is a guy that can do it all. His athleticism and his toughness—both guys have done everything we have asked them to do with playing inside or outside. They are just team players.”

On the team’s defensive backfield…

"They have played well. They communicate well and we have rotated in a good amount of guys. The back end has improved significantly. I am proud of those guys and they have a tremendous opportunity this weekend."

On the team’s health…

"We feel game five healthy. We have been close with a couple of guys that we talk about every week and we feel great about them this week and hopefully that plays out, but we do feel confident in the health of our team.”

On college football this season…

"Conference play is in full swing and it is playoff football. There were over 20 games that came down to one possession. The margins get smaller and smaller as you press forward and that is what you see across the country."

Is the “U back?”

"I don't get into that. To me, that has no value. All that stuff is meaningless to us. We are improving and there is progress. We have a relentless appetite to get better and we don't want anyone or anything getting in the way of doing that.”

The annual rivalry game will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee. It will be broadcast on ABC-TV and 560 WQAM radio.

GO CANES!