Mario Cristobal Built Miami the Right Way and Now the Hurricanes Are Back

When you dig into Mario Cristobal’s path, it explains a lot about the program he’s been building at Miami.

He was an offensive lineman for the Hurricanes from 1989–92, winning two national titles.

He worked his way up through the coaching ranks to become Nick Saban’s assistant head coach and offensive line coach at Alabama from 2013–16.

He proved himself to be an ace recruiter as a head coach at Oregon from 2018–21.

And now, he has his alma mater playing for a national championship for the first time since 2002 with Thursday’s 31–27 Fiesta Bowl and College Football Playoff semifinal win over No. 6 Ole Miss.

There have been some gaffes along the way, some lessons that needed to be learned such as the importance of kneeling, the importance of a good defensive coordinator and lots of game-management specifics.

But through it all, Cristobal was acquiring the talent.

Cristobal prioritized the trenches in his rebuild of Miami, understanding from his time in the SEC what it takes to win at the highest levels.

That has paid off with homegrown players in offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa and defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. — each likely to be first-round picks in April’s NFL Draft — and plenty of other players on each side of the line of scrimmage who have brought the Hurricanes here.

Think of this: Miami’s path through its first three CFP games has been against two Southeastern Conference teams in No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 6 Ole Miss, with defending national champion Ohio State sandwiched between them.

There was nothing fluky about any of those wins.

In those three games, Miami has rushed for 519 yards (4.5 per carry) while allowing 255 rushing yards (3.2 per carry). The Hurricanes’ defense had 13 sacks while the offense allowed eight, four of which came Thursday night.

Against one of the most consistent contenders in Ohio State and two teams from the vaunted SEC — which will fail to win the national title for the third straight season after winning 16 of 17 between 2006 and 2022, but that’s another conversation for another day — the Hurricanes dominated.

They exerted their will.

When Ole Miss took a 27–24 lead with 3:13 left, Carson Beck marched the Hurricanes on a 15-play, 75-yard drive, scoring the game-winning touchdown himself on a 3-yard run after converting four third downs.

The Hurricanes would not be denied.

Their reward is a mighty one.

Not just a trip to the national championship game, but a national championship game played in their home stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. on Jan. 19 against the winner of Friday’s matchup between No. 1 Indiana and No. 5 Oregon.

A loss in that game would certainly hurt for Miami. However, whatever happens that day, the Hurricanes have already maxed out the $20 million they’ll receive from the CFP for making the national championship game.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, under a somewhat new success initiatives program, will let Miami keep that entire payout.

That hefty bag is going to make an already good Hurricanes roster and program that much better going forward, setting the stage for other opportunities to return to the top of the sport even if this one comes up short.