Miami football news: Mario Cristobal’s ‘mass kicks a**’ lesson from Nick Saban is working wonders

On Wednesday night, the Miami football program shocked the college football world with a 24-14 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl, punching their ticket to the Fiesta Bowl in the process, where they will play for a spot in the national championship game. Making matters even more surprising was the fact that Miami largely dominated this game on both sides of the ball, with Ohio State never having a lead for the full 60 minutes.

It was a vindicating moment for Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal, and on Thursday, Cristobal had an interview with ESPN’s College Gameday crew, in which he revealed how his former mentor Nick Saban’s advice helped Miami on Wednesday.

“You used to tell us all the time, mass kicks a**, right?” said Cristobal, per College Gameday on X, formerly Twitter. “So we did get some big, massive guys, and I guess the best way to say it is we’re getting better. We’re getting better quality football players, better quality human beings.”

Indeed, the Miami program played like the bigger team on Wednesday night, dominating the Buckeyes on the defensive line and putting relentless pressure on Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, who suffered through one of his worst games of the season and threw a backbreaking pick six in the second quarter that gave the Hurricanes a 14-0 lead.

Although things briefly got dicey in the second half, Miami never appeared to blink, and they ultimately ended up pulling off one of the most consequential upsets in recent college football history.

The Hurricanes will now await the winner of the Ole Miss vs Georgia matchup in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday evening. Kickoff for that game is set for 8:00 pm ET in New Orleans.

If it’s Georgia, then Carson Beck would get a chance to face off against his former team in the Fiesta Bowl.

The post Miami football news: Mario Cristobal’s ‘mass kicks a**’ lesson from Nick Saban is working wonders appeared first on ClutchPoints.