Everything Mario Cristobal said after road win against Temple

Thank you for being here. Proud of our guys, first road test in perfect football weather, right? I know that certainly, the big guys appreciate it. You know had some really bright moments in the first half and felt like we started taking control of the game and they got some momentum there right before halftime going down and scoring. But then I thought our guys came out in the second half and made it a point to really take control, especially at the line of scrimmage, forced some turnovers. I think we forced three today. The offensive line really did a good job. Defensive line had some really bright spots, secondary shortened some things up, and overall a solid performance and lots of room for improvement.

On the running game:

“Well, we're getting the right hats on the right hats, hat position’s important. Technique’s important. I think our guys are playing with a better technique, better power. I think the running back’s are seeing it well. I think the competition at running back really helps us. You saw today, Don Chaney got the nod, but then Henry Parrish got the hot hand, so. That competition is alive and well, and it's important for us to praise effort but reward performance and then it's right back to competing again in practice. So again, just getting better at it. You know, we had some big runs too. We've made some people miss on the back end, which was something we're trying to, you know, get better at as well and avoid negative plays. Except for that one, you know we had a gap scheme called. They had two guys in the backside A-Gap, we’re not going to be able to block that. So that was the negative play we had with Mark Fletcher where they got in the backfield. But aside from that, just a good, solid performance.”

On the absence of running back Ajay Allen:

“He’s a really good football player. We just…the carries went to who they went to today. Heck, at the end of the first quarter, I think we had one possession, in on this thing goes uh… They were taking the air out of the ball. They were holding on to it for a long time. So, the reps got divvied out as they went. He’s a really good player for us, and he's going to play great football for us.”

On starting running back Don Chaney Jr.:

“He just did a really good job in practice, and he was good in the game time that he had, and it's not like he…is not like guys are blowing each other way. It's really tight. That whole…that entire position group is really tight in terms of competition and you know whenever one can create a little bit of separation, we're going with that. We're not in that, and that's what we did today, and he did really well, and then Henry came out and played really well, and Chris [Johnson Jr.], you know, showed some stuff there at the end. Also, Mark Fletcher had some nice runs, one called back, so we left some meat on the bone out there, but overall getting better, solid performance.

On the health status of running back Henry Parrish Jr.:

“He’s okay. We don't talk injuries so you're not going to be able to get that from me.”

On Miami’s run defense:

“They get the ball out quick. That's her deal, quick game. So they throw the ball a lot. Our guys did a great job against the run. They found some soft spots, you know, and in the passing game we let up a couple explosive plays also. A couple things got away from us. Then the touchdown, we actually were pretty good position, and just turned our head for a second to reestablish some leverage and that's where they plopped the ball right in there. Great play by them. So, all in all, again, some good stuff, some bright spots, but a lot of stuff to fix.”

On starting Center Matt Lee’s health status:

“He’s fine, you know we’re not going to talk injuries, but you’re going to keep asking, right? Okay.”

On scoring 38 points or more in the first four games since 2002:

“We're getting better. You know, we're working hard. Again, we're focused on just getting better and things are…we're executing at a more consistent level, at a higher clip. I do believe sky’s the limit for this, this offense and this scheme, and the bye week going to be really valuable. We need more guys to play winning football. We have over a handful of guys on each side of the ball and on special teams that must come out of the view themselves as a two or three. They've got to conduct and push and compete like a one or someone that’s trying to be one. We got to get there, and it's not something that's defiant. I'm just saying we have, we got to do a really good job coaching and we got to make sure that we breed that type of competition so we can get more players on each side of the ball in every phase to make this team better. And that in turn will make us a better offense, will make us a better defense, so. The bye week is going to be extremely valuable. Comes at a good time, you know? And we're looking forward to using it.”

On starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke:

“No, he was excellent. He was, you know, I mean it was…they threw the ball. We threw the ball pretty well. I mean, it's every now and a gust would come, and that ball would just, it was gone, you know? But all in all that, those are great conditions for playing football, you know? That was pretty refreshing. We’re in some heat every single day. You guys know you're down there, so it was good. You know those guys, especially the linemen, those guys were smiling. You know, like, man, we could go 100 plays out here if we had to. So uh, but uh, considering that there were some, some gusts and whatnot, Tyler, Tyler did a great job.”

On being close to the standard that he is aiming to achieve:

“I don't think we're anywhere in our stages of development and growth as a program. We're not in any way, shape, or form ready to compare ourselves to any team from the past. You know, we try to honor past teams by the way that we play the game. That's the best thing that we can do, you know? And it's got to show on a game-by-game basis that it means more to us than the guys on the other side of the field. But we would one day be able to say, hey, we are as effective and productive as those teams. But the entire focus is on the 2023 Miami Hurricanes and strictly on just getting better. That's really honestly, that's all we're talking about in there. It's all the players you're talking about in there. Let's just...let's just get better."

On if the game plan had to change because of the weather:

“Not much, not much at all. You know, I know there were reports early in the week that it was going to be really, really rough. But, you know, we, we have confidence in the run game. We have confidence in what we throw is manageable. That's an unbelievable stadium too, you know? I mean, again, sometimes you get a gust that escapes through there. But that thing is it's, it's built to handle, built to handle weather. The turf was awesome. It was great to play in there. They've got a good football team, certainly wish them the best whatnot, but it was good for us to get on the road, work our processes, get a W, come out relatively healthy. We don't see anything serious, and get back home and get right back to work.”

On how to utilize the bye week:

“Oh, the bye week. The bye week is…man. There's so many ways that it's important. I mean, number one, you've got to make sure you take care of schoolwork. We had a Thursday night game. We had a Friday night game, right? We were on the road; we were at home. We have, we've had a wacky month, right? Great month of September, you know, came out of it 4-0. We took care of business. Certainly, you want to use the bye week to get healthy, but you want to use the bye week to get better. There's a balance there. You want to sell, scout, and see what you're doing, where your tendencies are. Make sure that you can evolve as an offense and defense and find the things you need to work on and get better in something to throw out, something’s to add. It's important that we continue to get more connected as a team. As coaches and players, because that's probably been the most valuable thing we've done since January. This team has become tighter. It's become more self-motivated, driven, and we've got to continue to enhance that. So we're going to spend some time together, we're going to spend some time in the community. That's really important too. You know, we get one by week, we get a chance to show our faces and our community is important to us. And we want to make sure that they know that. That they feel that from us and then it's a little bit of extra time. We'll get to watch, you know, and prepare for what's coming down the road. We start ACC play the next time we set foot on the field, on the game field. So a lot of stuff, right, A whole lot of stuff, and at the same time handle recruiting. But as you know, that never stops, that never will stop, you know, so. Nice, nice itinerary set up for the staff. I'm sure they're going to see it on the plane, you know? But yeah, all in all, solid guys.”

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