The Miami Hurricanes are headed to the national championship game on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on January 19. Miami secured its spot with a 31-27 victory over Ole Miss Rebels in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal of the College Football Playoff.
It will be Miami’s first appearance in a national title game since the 2002 season, when the Hurricanes lost to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Miami is seeking its first national championship since defeating Nebraska in the Rose Bowl the year prior. In the two decades since, the Hurricanes have won just two bowl games.
Head coach Mario Cristobal has completely reinvigorated the program in his four years since returning to his alma mater. Following the Fiesta Bowl win, Cristobal is 35-18 at Miami and has now posted back-to-back double-digit win seasons.
Despite the success — and with Miami just one win away from its sixth national championship — Cristobal found himself fielding questions from his former boss and mentor, Nick Saban, about some of his first-half decisions during the Fiesta Bowl.
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Nick Saban Asks Mario Cristobal About Questionable First Half vs. Ole Miss
During College GameDay, Saban joked that he had tried to call Cristobal but understood he was “big time now.” The former Alabama coach then asked his longtime assistant whether he wanted him to critique him diplomatically, off air, or the way it would have been addressed in a 2015 staff meeting.
“Well, I’m sure you’ve had enough time to think about it while you were getting your makeup done and your eyebrows trimmed,” Cristobal joked back. “So whatever you feel is best, coach, go right ahead.”
Saban then explained his concern.
“The one thing that concerned me was that you dominated the game. You dominated the game,” Saban said. “And they kept shooting themselves in the foot. You didn’t get stopped in the first half one time unless you stopped yourself with a penalty.”
Saban alluded to how Miami’s mistakes turned into points for Ole Miss, including a late field goal just before halftime.
With just over two minutes remaining in the first half, Miami quarterback Carson Beck found Keelan Marion wide open for a 52-yard touchdown to give the Hurricanes a 17-10 lead.
Miami’s defense then forced a three-and-out, returning the ball to the offense with 1:13 remaining. However, the Hurricanes went three-and-out themselves, beginning with an eight-yard sack of Beck. Ole Miss regained possession and went eight plays in 44 seconds before drilling a 58-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 17-13.
Mario Cristobal Responds to Nick Saban’s Criticism
Cristobal was quick to respond to Saban’s critique of the sequence.
“Let me correct you,” Cristobal said. “By your standards — and I’ll show you your notebook if you want to — if you’re under 45 seconds at your 35, you try to pop a run or a screen. And if you do, you go. But if it’s over a minute, especially around 1:10, your philosophy was to be aggressive and try to get points. And that’s what we did.”
Saban laughed and replied, “I may have changed my philosophy since then.”
Cristobal fired back with a grin.
“You used to be about physicality,” Cristobal said. “Now you like trick-dick reverses and dump passes.”
The exchange was lighthearted, highlighting the long-standing relationship between the two coaches. Cristobal served on Saban’s staff at Alabama from 2013 to 2016, and even with a national title appearance on the line, the mentor-mentee dynamic was still on full display.
Nick Saban Questions Mario Cristobal’s Coaching On-Air After Miami’s Fiesta Bowl Win