Don’t bother arguing with Miami head coach Mario Cristobal what the greatest rivalry in college football is.
Cristobal says it’s the one between his team and the Florida State Seminoles, which the No. 3-ranked Hurricanes will face on Saturday. FSU-Miami indeed has been one of the most storied rivalries in all of college football for years, and there have been many high-stakes games.
âWe always knew this as the best rivalry in football coming up,â Mario Cristobal told reporters on Monday. âAs a player, thatâs always a reason why players chose to go to one of the two respective schools. I mean, college football is the best sport in the world, so the fact that people bring up historical moments and whatnot, itâs not surprising.”
“I do think our players, alumni bases, fans, they all understand how intense this rivalry is, but I think our players, more importantly, understand the importance of practice and preparation, and thatâs what our focus is on right now,” Cristobal added.
While Miami comes in a perfect 4-0 and with the No. 3 ranking, FSU has experienced a bounce-back season from 2024’s nightmarish 2-10 campaign. The No. 18 Seminoles (3-1) opened the season with a win over Alabama, and FSU went unbeaten until a 46-38 double overtime loss to Virginia, which moved into the top-25 this week.
“They certainly have done a great job enhancing themselves on both sides of the ball,” Cristobal said of FSU. “Very unique systems that are very challenging, from the use of personnel to the tempo to a lot of the, you know, they disguise and hide the ball really well. It’s hard to find, and there’s so many plays that come out of these distinct formations, while making it challenging with both pace, with physicality and with execution.”
“On defense, they’ve done a great job just becoming a very physical and aggressive defense with multiple looks on the back end and playing very strong and physical football up front,” he added.
FSU Boasts an Explosive Offense
FSU averages a national-best 53 points per game and holds opponents to 19 points per game. The Seminoles pile on the yards with 263.8 yards passing and 33.63 yards per game.
“Starts with their offensive line. They’re a big, physical bunch, real heavy-handed,” Cristobal said. “They’re light on their feet. They mix up the tempos. They mix up their formations. They’re very versatile. They run it all: power counter, inside, zone, wide zone, toss, everything.”
“Quarterback’s a really good runner as well. He’s really good at everything that he does, but I think it starts and ends with physicality. They get downhill, they finish runs, they run their feet through contact. And I believe they’re number one in total offense, and not by a little, by a lot, and a large part of that’s because they run the ball really well,” he added.
Miami Will Look to Continue Virginia Trend Against Seminoles
FSU’s defense holds teams to 184.5 yards passing and 111.5 yards rushing per contest. That said, Virginia did quite the opposite in the ACC opener, and Miami hopes to do more of the same, albeit in Tallahassee.
“Executions at a premium, right? Games like this, one thing that really stands out across the country,” Cristobal said. “I might be a little bit off, but I believe that there were over 20 games that were one-possession games this weekend, and several of them were overtime games as well. That’s because conference play has started, and conference play is basically playoff football.
“Everybody’s alive, everybody’s vying for a spot. And so the margins for error, the margins between winning and not winning, become smaller and smaller,” he added. “So every part of your preparation and leading up to execution, the details that come with that, they have to be practiced, reps emphasize, reemphasize, made airtight as much as humanly possible to give you the best chance for success, because the levels just get more and more difficult. And I think that’s the best part of college football at this time of year. You’re getting everybody’s best, and you’re giving everybody your best.”
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