“The U is back to work” as latest big-stage, signature win slips away from Miami Hurricanes | Opinion
Mario Cristobal has his stock answer or some variation of it whenever he is asked if The U is “back,” which is only about a hundred times a day. Miami Hurricanes fans waiting 20 years need to know how that elusive return to glory will be known or, even better, when.
The short answer to whether The U is back is “not yet,” but that’s a bit direct, so Cristobal said this when asked that before the Canes traveled to College Station, Texas for a football game Saturday night:
”The U is back to work,” said the first -year head coach and former championship-era UM offensive lineman. “Lots of work to do. The sky’s the limit, but there is no sky without the work.”
That was true of No. 13-ranked Miami at 2-0 after easy wins against smaller opponents.
It is even truer today, after a 17-9 loss at No. 24 Texas A&M before 107,245 fans at Kyle Field, the most ever there for a non-conference opponent.
So much went right, but enough went wrong to remind Cristobal where the work to be done still is.
It was a weird result. A Canes fan could go nuts playing what-if-I-told you.
What if I told you: Miami led in passing yards (217), rushing yards (175), total yards (392) and time of possession (34:20). What if I also told you UM had three sacks and did not allow a single one.
How do the Hurricanes not win that game?
First answer:
Twenty-seven first downs. but zero touchdowns.
“Hard to imagine,” said Cristobal of that.
Other answers: A fumbled punt return leading to A&M’s first touchdown. Leading receiver Xavier Restrepo out injured leading to Tyler Van Dyke’s inaccurate performance and 5-for-14 on third downs. Seven penalties including two crucial holds that stymied a late drive. Two missed field goals. And the inability to recover a late A&M muffed punt return.
None of that matters much when the opponent is Bethune-Cookman or Southern Miss.
All of them do when the opponent is your size, and home, and desperate off a humiliating loss.
“We’ve got to get better,” Cristobal put it simply afterward. “We showed that we can compete in a difficult environment, but competing is just not enough. You’ve got to execute. You’ve got to prevent shooting yourself in the foot on some things. We played hard, we played physical, we played tough. But mistakes and miscues. Not good enough. You gotta execute. We’ve got to get back to work.’’
Van Dyke came out of nowhere and was great last season, with premier receivers Charleston Rambo and Mike Harley a huge reason. Both are gone now. With Restrepo also gone for several weeks, Miami’s receiving corps could be an issue that forces the team to rely more on its run-game and defense.
The schedule softens again now. Miami does not play another currently ranked opponent until Clemson late in the schedule. That is the Atlantic Coast Conference nemesis UM must get as good as, and eventually better than, to get to what defines being “back” around here:
Competing for ACC championships and the College Football Playoff. That’s the bar set by five national championship, the most recent in ever-distant 2001.
Saturday night was the first real test for the new coach, the chance for a signature win that would have given the Cristobal era full liftoff.
Instead it was more of what Canes fans have come to expect the past several years.
Remember in 2017 under Mark Richt when the Canes beat No. 3 Notre Dame and briefly elevated to a No. 2 national ranking? “Back” sure seemed in play then. It didn’t last. Almost as if it never happened.
Since that watershed win over the Irish Miami is 5-9 against ranked opponent’s with Saturday’s loss.
So many potential defining, signature wins have not happened.
In 2017 the Canes were 10-1 but got crushed by No. 1 Clemson.
In 2108 high hopes were dashed with a season-opening 33-17 loss to No. 25 LSU.
The next year UM dropped its opener to No. 8 Florida.
In 2020 Miami was 3-0 before the comeuppance of a 42-17 loss to No. 1 Clemson.
In last season’s opener the measuring stick -- No. 1 Alabama -- hit UM upside the head, 44-13
Then came Saturday night.
A chance to show things are different.
Instead a lot of signature wins keep presenting themselves, and turning into sobering losses. (That’s not to mention UM’s 1-11 record in bowl games since 2006.)
I believe the Miami Hurricanes are headed right, yes.
I believe Cristobal is the right man to see it through.
I also believe he has the right and realistic response to, ”Is The U back?” and that it will be the right answer until you hear otherwise:
“The U is back to work.”
