Opening statement
Again, first, I want to thank everybody that came out for homecoming. That crowd was awesome. Great to see so many familiar faces. I know it's a special time of year for alumni to be able to partake in the festivities in a game like that. And then really proud of our players, our coaching staff, really just got back to work right in the locker room last week, last Saturday, just kind of made a decision to get back to work. We have what we have. We're going to have some injuries, and we just got to find a way to get it done, and though that after the first two drives that our offense really got going, I think we scored about seven successive drives after that and found a lot of success on defense, albeit a couple explosive plays
from them. Hats off to Duke, really good football team, well coached, tough.
Their running back is a really, really special player, but all really, really good, again, conference win. Conference football is playoff football. We always say it. So want to know what was accomplished.
On the depth Miami has
Well, I would say I really don't think we have different depth than anybody else. I really don't. And I mean the roster size proves that. I think the development of some of the guys that have been in line for playing time showed up in some really critical spots. Poiser didn't play today. The guy's the ultimate communicator and player back there. Phenomenal player. Obviously, we're playing without Malachi and Max Buchanan, a bunch of other guys and OJ. Seeing those guys on the sideline, it makes you, but so are a lot of people. And so instead of sitting back and we just choose to go forward, find ways to get better.
On status of Mark Fletcher and Zechariah Poyser
Fletcher, I think, is going to be fine. I think he got nicked up in the first half. Feel good about Poyser this next week.
On execution in the fourth quarter
Well, I think a couple things. Number one, early on, a lot of self-inflicted wounds, right? Penalties putting us behind and off schedule. I think also the way that there's so much pressure and movement that you have to live with some of the short games or negative plays that come with that. You have to, but you still have to stick to the run. You have to find different formations and different ways to knock out the interior and cut off the edges. And we kept going back and forth. It's a little bit of a cat-and-mouse game, but we felt that we found ourselves getting some better push, getting downhill. And then our guys started breaking some big runs and taking over the game. But the fourth quarter is certainly very indicative of just a really good summer strength and conditioning, being able to move the line of scrimmage as such.
We'd like to close it out better at the end on defense, but I saw a lot of progress on defense, a lot of much better play at corner, particularly in man coverage. The interception by X certainly stands out, but all in all, just really proud of our team.
On defense holding Duke to three early points
No, that was awesome. To me, that was probably a difference in the game because we had a tough time getting things going offensively. And the last thing you want to do is let that side over there grab the momentum because they have a really good defense. Top in the conference, top-10 defense in the country. And so for them to come out and do that, it certainly set the tone for the game. It gave the offense a lot of confidence, and we worked our way through some of those early struggles on offense to start popping some touchdowns and some big plays. Early on, we were stuck in a red zone. We got ourselves, I think, three times, found ourselves stuck down there, and credit to them. They do a good job. But after that, I think it's a little bit more indicative of what we want to do and what we have to do.
On if Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate had any extra motivation facing former team
I mean, I think there's always a little bit of that, but I think the majority of their motivation, their daily just want to and drive is solely based on winning and getting better. I do believe that. I believe that the narratives are more for the weak and the pageantry of college football and the excitement that builds, or narratives that build, but I have a tough time believing that that's really a part of anybody's process.
On holding up against Duke’s defensive line
Well, obviously early we struggled. There were a lot of twists and games, and some of the concepts were a little bit further down the field. We had a couple holding penalties. So one thing we do is go back to work, and instead of throwing crap at our guys and jumping in with the insults we do, we go back to work and get better. And I think it's a testament to them, to Coach Dawson, to Coach Mirabal, that as the game went on, the offensive line got stronger, protection got better, and the running game started taking over. So it's a four-quarter game. We pride ourselves in strength and conditioning and what it can do for you as the game wears on. And I think it showed up today.
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Everything Miami HC Mario Cristobal said after win vs. Duke
