Gene Frenette: Mario Cristobal has a ton of work ahead to fix underachieving Hurricanes
When the University of Miami administration lured former offensive tackle and two-time national champion Mario Cristobal back home to coach the Hurricanes, it was met with resounding approval that he would bring back the U.
One year later, the ‘Canes find themselves back at square one as Miami tied for the worst record (5-7) in the last 45 years of the program.
For a team ranked No. 16 in preseason to not even be bowl-eligible, Miami joined Texas A&M as frontrunners for putting together the most disappointing season in the country in 2022.
You can blame part of this UM dumpster fire on injuries that kept several offensive starters sidelined for a significant amount of time, including quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, running back Donald Chaney, receiver Xavier Restrapo, left tackle Zion Nelson and left guard Jalen Rivers (Oak Leaf High).
But Miami’s struggles went beyond the medical front. Cristobal and his staff simply didn’t have enough talent to be remotely competitive in the mediocre ACC, where it allowed 40-plus points in four of five league defeats. The combined record of the three ACC opponents Miami did beat was 11-22.
Gene's previous three columns:
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When the ‘Canes needed to beat Pitt at home in the season finale to get bowl-eligible, they put in a half-hearted effort in a 42-16 defeat where many fans exited Hard Rock Stadium before halftime.
Cristobal, a no-nonsense coach who sugarcoats nothing, didn’t mince words about his program’s predicament after the Pitt loss, saying: “Setting a standard comes with laying a foundation and sometimes it is really painful and that is where we are.”
Here’s a heavy dose of reality: the ‘Canes are way below average on both sides of the ball, they tackle poorly, their defense can’t get off the field and UM’s offense averaged 16.9 points per game against Power 5 opponents.
Before Miami even stepped into ACC play, getting pushed around in a 45-31 home loss to Middle Tennessee State was a pretty clear indicator Cristobal’s first season would be no cause for celebration.
The coach given a 10-year, $80 million contract is trying to hold on to a top-10 recruiting class, but next year won’t be much better unless he hits the transfer portal hard and gets players who can help fix UM’s mess.
Nine 'Canes have already put their name in the portal, so a massive roster turnover is surely coming, with Miami possibly bringing in as many as 40 new players. The ‘Canes better hope Van Dyke sticks it out because the quarterbacks behind him, Jake Garcia and Jacurri Brown, didn't look terribly promising in their appearances.
Cristobal surprisingly did a poor job of roster management and failed to change the culture for the better. Miami hasn’t been relevant in 20 years and it was more of the same in the debut season of the coach everybody wanted.
Until further notice, the U still stands for underachieving.
Playing role of Lamar
When the Jaguars began preparations for last week’s win over the Baltimore Ravens, they needed somebody who mimicked quarterback Lamar Jackson in practice.
The job initially went to receiver Kendric Pryor, but after six passes and a respectable job running the ball, he was replaced by practice-squad player Seth Williams, a former Auburn receiver who played quarterback in high school.
Pryor playfully said in the locker room Wednesday that he “got fired” as Williams sat nearby within earshot. Both enjoyed the banter of discussing their brief fling as an NFL quarterback.
“We’re cool about it, just whoever gets the job done and helps the team,” said Williams. “I can definitely say later in life that I played quarterback against an NFL defense.”
Matthews joins SEC Legends
Jacksonville native Allama Matthews, a tight end at Vanderbilt (1979-82) who went on to play three years with the Atlanta Falcons, will be among the SEC Legends honored Saturday before the LSU-Georgia SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Matthews, who played wide receiver at Jackson High (1976-78) before switching positions in college, was Vanderbilt’s selection for the 2022 class that also includes Pro Football Hall of Famers Peyton Manning (Tennessee) and Ozzie Newsome (Alabama).
Every SEC school selects one of its football alumni to be part of the Legends Class each year. Matthews also served as an SEC football official (head linesman) for 20 years until 2014. He’s retired from UPS management and lives in Chicago.
Storming field no big deal
Predictably, there was a lot of social media back-and-forth between rival fan bases when Florida State fans stormed the field at Doak Campbell Stadium following its 45-38 victory last week over Florida.
Many Gators fans chided FSU for exuberantly celebrating a win over a 6-6 UF team, while Seminoles supporters fired back that the criticism showed the loss got underneath the skin of Florida fans.
What does it all mean? Nothing, really, except that college football rivalries trigger friction between fan bases that don’t always think rationally in the heat of the moment.
If fans choose to take the physical risks of storming their home field after beating a rival, no matter what the records are or game circumstances, that’s their choice. Still, any criticism from rival fans for being joyous over their team’s victory is a clear sign of two things: frustration and envy.
Now FSU fans should remember that next year if the outcome changes and the Gators’ faithful decide to celebrate the same way.
Quick-hitting nuggets
On Nov. 14 early in the morning, about 15 hours after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Jaguars at Arrowhead Stadium, head coach Andy Reid, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and secondary coach Dave Merritt boarded a private plane to attend the 11 a.m. funeral services for Tom Coughlin’s wife, Judy, in Jacksonville Beach.
Considering the Chiefs played on the road that week against the Los Angeles Chargers, it was a classy thing for Reid to cancel most of his Monday schedule and sit at the service with Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson. Both Spagnuolo and Merritt were assistants on Coughlin’s staff with the New York Giants. …
When the Jaguars lost five one-score games earlier this season, the breaks in many instances simply didn’t go their way. In last week’s 28-27 win over the Baltimore Ravens, they got two huge ones in the fourth quarter. The first was Ravens safety Geno Stone dropping the ball on Trevor Lawrence’s incomplete pass downfield for Christian Kirk, which preceded a fourth-and-8 conversion pass to Zay Jones on the next-to-last TD drive.
On the 10-yard TD catch by Marvin Jones before the game-winning, 2-point PAT, officials missed right tackle Jawaan Taylor false-starting twice when he didn’t get set and then jumped early. A little luck in close games is never a bad thing. …
Florida State basketball takes a 1-8 record into ACC play Saturday at Virginia. That’s the worst start for the Seminoles since the 1956-57 season when they lost their first nine games under coach J.K. “Bud” Kennedy. The leading scorer on that team was guard Hugh Durham (19.6 ppg), the future Seminoles head coach, who finished a three-year FSU career with 1,381 points. Durham, an 85-year-old Jacksonville resident, also coached at Georgia and Jacksonville University, taking FSU and Georgia to the Final Four. …
Many bowl projections have Mississippi State being sent to the Taxslayer Gator Bowl and Florida going to the Las Vegas Bowl, which is strange since it makes little sense geographically. Even worse for the Gator Bowl, which may have lost a viable SEC option when South Carolina beat Clemson, it likely won’t get Florida State either. However, with Utah beating Southern Cal for the Pac-12 title, it could trigger a domino effect that puts Notre Dame back in play, which would be a huge boost. If the matchup turns out to be Mississippi State and a middle-of-the-pack ACC opponent, that will be a ticket-selling challenge for Taxslayer officials. …
Pigskin forecast
Jaguars over Detroit Lions by 7 (kneecap bites); Philadelphia Eagles over Tennessee Titans by 4 (armor cracks); Dallas Cowboys over Indianapolis Colts by 7 (playoff reservations); San Francisco 49ers over Miami Dolphins by 1 (Jimmy Garoppolo appreciation gesture); Georgia over LSU by 13 (Nick Saban taunts); Tulane over UCF by 3 (dishes of revenge); Michigan over Purdue by 17 (anti-boredom prescriptions). Last week: 5 right, 2 Mac Jones-Matt Patricia pairings.
gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540
Gene Frenette Sports columnist at Florida Times-Union, follow him on Twitter @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Miami Hurricanes expectations were overinflated in Cristobal's first year
