Miami coach Mario Cristobal addressed the media on Monday following his team loss to NC State on Saturday and ahead of his team's trip to Tallahassee to take on fourth-ranked Florida State. The Hurricanes are 6-3 but are just 2-3 in the ACC.

Cristobal on the timing of his team's game vs. FSU coming off a loss and three losses in their last five games:

"I think it's always a good time for a rivalry game, right? That's what college football has always been and will always be about. The intensity and the pageantry and the passion behind it is awesome. It's incomparable."

Cristobal on the FSU vs. Miami rivalry:

"I think it's the best one. Played in it, coached in it and I think it's the best one there is. Intensity unmatched."

Cristobal on what stands out about the 2023 FSU team:

"A very upperclassmen-laden team. A very talented, very stout, big, strong at the line of scrimmage and very explosive at the skill positions. The quarterback is certainly a difference maker."

Cristobal on Jordan Travis, Keon Coleman, Trey Benson and FSU's talent at their skill positions:

"Those are really high-level players. They're as good as you will find in the country. And they play really, really hard."

Cristobal on the importance of this game on the recruiting trail:

"I think this game, I think all games, I think the season, watching programs progress, I think they all factor in. I think recruits are always watching, right. They are watching to see, hey does it do the things that we are seeing when we visit a place, are they being validated by some of the things that they are doing on Saturdays? From a personnel standpoint, from an accomplishment standpoint, from a progress standpoint, from a particular position and their results. I think recruits are always watching. And they are watching for consistency, for honesty and for truth."

Cristobal on what is the most important thing to do to prepare his team for its game vs. FSU:

"The intensity behind practice and preparation is always the most important thing. You've got to be able to win your Monday, Tuesday, your Monday through Friday right. Because your practice and preparation are going to end up being your game reality. And then come game time, making sure that practice and preparation makes its way on to the field in the form of high-level execution and in the form of making sure you're not creating your own turnovers. That you're not having penalties that you could avoid. So being able to execute at a high-level with a lot of passion, play really, really hard, play really physical, finish plays and play together."

Cristobal on FSU's use of the transfer portal under Mike Norvell:

"They've done a good job with the transfer portal. They have several guys at several positions that are transfer portal acquisitions, so they've done a great job of identifying and acquiring transfer portal prospects that again have a lot of experience that are in the junior and senior realm."

Cristobal on whether Tyler Van Dyke will remain Miami's starting quarterback after throwing 10 interceptions in his last four games:

"I appreciate the question and I will respectfully say this, just from a game planning standpoint and a team dynamic standpoint. I wouldn't use this forum to discuss a personnel move, especially at that position, because it affects so many different things. What I will always say is that we are always competing at every position, and we are always assessing, and we will always make the decisions that gives us the best chance to win."

Cristobal on assessing the play of his quarterbacks; how turnovers affect that assessment:

"We've struggled, to your question, turnovers cost us football games. So, we have progressed as a team in so many different areas and the last four weeks, we have regressed in the passing game. You know we have. It's a combination of things, there's no masking that. We certainly don't sidestep that, and when you assess the passing game, you assess how does it relate to the running game? How does protection fit in? How is protection as it relates to the backs? How is the route running? So it's a huge area of focus and it's tied into some of the turnovers we've had as well. And it is a top priority for us."

Cristobal on Van Dyke's frame of mind after a three-interception, one-fumble performance vs. NC State:

"He's good, he's tough, he's resilient. I don't know how much social media affects him or people in general so that can never be a factor. That has nothing to do with the work that needs to be done, the team itself, areas to improve, teammates, goals, all that kind of stuff. But he is very determined to be the best teammate he can possibly be and the best player he can possibly be. So he is being Tyler Van Dyke."

On where he has seen his team progress the most over the last month:

"I think our running game vs. tough looks continues to get better. Those are tough yards and I think we've managed to probably do better getting the ball down in the red zone than most squads against this last outfit (NC State) ...Our defense continues to get better and better. Against the run we have been able to present multiple looks, play multiple coverages, play a lot of different guys and we continue to get better there. We've played a lot, a significant amount of young guys on special teams as well. Our coverage units have improved."