The Hurricanes won their season opener 70-13, but that doesn’t mean Mario Cristobal is satisfied.
“I want and need more out of the way we practice,” Cristobal said Wednesday. “We’re making progress, but it’s not enough. So we’re going to demand more of ourselves, and we’re going to teach. We’re going to keep coaching and teaching and learning, all of us together as a program.”
Miami rolled through Bethune-Cookman, an FCS team that went 2-9 in 2021, to start this year’s campaign, but Cristobal feels like there is room for improvement.
On defense, the Hurricanes coach said the team’s pass rush was “undisciplined,” said the team needed to improve in tackling and work on technique in the secondary.
Miami was the worst Power 5 team in tackling last season, according to Pro Football Focus. They missed 191 tackles last year, an average of nearly 16 per game. The site gave the team a tackling score of 37.7, and the Hurricanes’ best-tackling game was a win over Duke where they received a 73.2 grade.
The Hurricanes had 10 missed tackles in their win Saturday and received a 61.9 tackling grade — higher than their median grade last year but not improved from their best tackling last year.
“We really want — we need — to be a better tackling team,” Cristobal said. “We had made so much progress, we felt, in the summer, starting in the springtime and fall camp and in our scrimmages. And then it showed up in spurts on Saturday.
“And when I mean tackling, I’m talking about not only getting guys to the ground, but knock-back tackling as opposed to absorbing. That comes with practicing in a tough manner, and when I say tough, in a smart manner — not going to the ground, making sure you accelerate through contact, run your feet. So that’s got to show up, communication’s got to show up, technique in the secondary’s got to show up.”
Although Miami scored nine offensive touchdowns, Cristobal said Miami left big plays on the board. While it didn’t come back to bite them on Saturday, missing big plays can become an issue for the Hurricanes as the schedule gets tougher.
“Believe it or not, we left a lot of meat on the bone,” offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said. “We started our unit meeting off [Sunday] watching those plays that we felt like could have been better. The difference between an 8-yard gain or a 25, or a potential touchdown. So there’s still a ton of room to grow: technique, fundamentals, footwork, hat placement, finishing, intent of plays and so we’ve got to show up hungry and even more eager to learn this week.”
Hurricanes players said they’ve noticed an uptick in intensity during practices this week as Miami prepares for its first Football Bowl Subdivision opponent, Southern Miss.
“It’s supposed to be hard,” said offensive lineman Jalen Rivers, who was named the ACC’s Offensive Lineman of the Week on Tuesday. “Because when practices are hard, [it makes] the game even easier.”
Miami typically practices in the morning, before the South Florida heat reaches its most intense levels. But the Hurricanes’ next game will start at noon with an expected heat index surpassing 110 degrees during the game.
“Practices are long, and we play here in Miami, where it’s humid,” quarterback Jake Garcia said. “It’s hot and humid, and we’re trying to take pride in that. I think that’s something that can separate us, and we can use that as an edge for when people come down here to play us.”
The Hurricanes still have time before facing the Golden Eagles on Saturday, but after that looms their first top-10 opponent of the season: Texas A&M. In that time, Cristobal hopes the team will improve how they practice.
“We need to have better practice habits,” Cristobal said. “We need to run to the ball better, we need to be more physical. It’s a very different blueprint. They’re not used to it. That’s OK, there’s nothing wrong with that. But we have to keep forging forward and use the blueprint that has stood the test of time.”
