7/25/2023 football Edit

Miami looking to avenge FSU blowout, follow FSU blueprint in portal rebuild

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Suffice it to say, the 2022 football season did not go according to plan for the Miami Hurricanes.

This time last year, Mario Cristobal was being posed as the savior of the Hurricanes at his first ACC Kickoff; the golden-boy alum made good, finally back in Coral Gables to lead UM back to the promised land. The Hurricanes were picked to win the ACC Coastal in Cristobal’s first season and received eight votes to win the ACC Championship.

What followed was far below those lofty expectations. After a 2-0 start, the Hurricanes lost seven of their final 10 games, finishing 5-7 and failing to make a bowl for the first time since 2007.

“We left a program in a very different state (Oregon) than a program we were taking on (Miami). We left success to go restart a rebuild. And to do so you have to really dig in hard with people that understand what that takes,” Cristobal said Tuesday as he returned to ACC Kickoff ahead of his second season. “It takes a lot of toughness. You can’t change the roster. You can’t magically make things appear or disappear. You have to go and do the best you can. And you have to deal and accept whatever that result is. And not shy away from it, sugarcoat it or make an excuse.”

There are a few choices for the true moment where the Hurricanes bottomed out last season. It may have been the 45-31 home loss to Middle Tennessee State or the 45-21 loss to Duke, which was also at home.

Many Miami fans would likely say, though, that the true low point was the Hurricanes’ 45-3 blowout loss at the hand of visiting Florida State, the most lopsided home loss in the history of the FSU-Miami rivalry.

The recent stretch of the FSU-Miami series is some pretty convincing evidence of the fact that the tables can turn quickly in rivalry series. After all, two years before FSU’s 2022 blowout of the Hurricanes, Miami beat FSU 52-10 in 2020.

That 2020 win was Miami’s fourth in a row in the series. FSU has won the two games since, quickly turning the tide in its favor as the Hurricanes floundered, hiring Cristobal ahead of the 2022 season after firing Manny Diaz.

“It’s all a year-to-year thing. Obviously, you have the same players, but there are teams that add players, just like Florida State. Two years ago, 5-7, now 9-3. Credit to them for adding the right players, the right guys,” Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke said Tuesday. “They did what they had to do to build that future. We’re doing the same thing over here in Miami, adding the right guys we need to make our program excel.”

Miami has understandably made a lot of changes this offseason to try to fix all of the program’s failures in Cristobal’s first season. Gone are both offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele after just one season. In are new offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson (from Houston) and new defensive coordinator Lance Guidry (from Marshall).

In addition to two new coordinators in year two, there were also 16 transfer additions to the Miami roster. Cristobal made it clear Tuesday that he sees high-school recruiting as what will lead to long-term success at Miami, but said hitting the portal so hard was necessary to quickly supplement the talent on the team’s roster.

Did Cristobal see what FSU head coach Mike Norvell has done through the portal as an example of how to rebuild? Who’s to say. But it does seem that Miami’s optimal blueprint for its path back starting this year may be similar to FSU’s recent model and would definitely include a drought-snapping win at Doak Campbell Stadium on Nov. 11.

“Very important. I think that’s one of the games that everybody always says is circled on the calendar every year, like it should be,” Miami safety Kam Kinchens said of this year’s FSU-Miami game. “It’s a rivalry. We owe them, we need our get-back so that’s all we’re looking forward to.”

Van Dyke added, “Last year didn't go as planned. It's a new year. I think everything happens for a reason. You go through times of adversity for a reason. We're just looking forward to this year, taking it one day at a time, staying focused in the present. Our goal is just to win. Just take it one day at a time and just win.”