Mario Cristobal wasn't afraid to praise Ohio State, but he was proud of his team – both their preparation and the way they played – after the Cotton Bowl.
Ohio State was expected, by many, to beat Miami in the CFP quarterfinals Saturday night. That didn't happen, and the No. 4-ranked Buckeyes' season fell short quicker than they expected following the loss to the Hurricanes.
That said, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal praised Ohio State – both how talented the Buckeyes are and the coaching staff as a whole – while being more proud of the way his team played while pulling off the upset on New Year's Eve.
After whispering to his players about the room being so quiet and whether the reporters wanted Ohio State to win the game or not, Cristobal said that the reporters should be happier and questioned whether he was in the right room or not.
In a way, he was joking, but it also showed the type of bulletin-board material and chip-on-its-shoulder mentality that Miami seemed to play with throughout the game at AT&T Stadium.
"They had success in the second half. Credit to them. They're a really well-coached team. Schematically, they were really difficult to prepare for. Our players kept responding. Our players kept coming with their counterpunch."– Mario Cristobal
After Ohio State rushed for -3 yards in the first half, the Buckeyes had 38 rushing yards on the opening drive of the second half, including a one-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 14-7. It was not only some adjustments that OSU made on the offensive line, but schematically as well. That said, Miami had a counterpunch for it, just as they seemed to have throughout much of the game.
"They were starting to find some chunk plays, and they found success in the running game to open up the second half. Those two drives, they did a nice job just checking and getting to an opposite-side run, exposing the B-gap. They got themselves some chunk yardage, a couple of gap schemes in wide zone."– Mario Cristobal
The Hurricanes dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, especially in the first half. In all, Miami had five sacks, including three in the opening two quarters. After Julian Sayin was sacked only six times throughout the regular season, he was sacked five times in each of OSU's last two games, resulting in two losses.
Offensively, Miami had 37 carries for 153 yards and a touchdown. While 4.1 yards per carry won't blow anyone away, Ohio State's defense had allowed 84.5 rushing yards per game entering Wednesday night, the fifth-best mark in the FBS. On the Hurricanes' 10-play, 70-yard touchdown drive to take a 24-14 lead with 55 seconds remaining, Miami ran for 52 yards.
It was Miami's physicality, both in the trenches and throughout every area of the game, that inevitably won them the game and allowed the No. 10-seeded Hurricanes to advance in the CFP.
"We keep getting better and better up front. We don't think we've arrived by any stretch, but we certainly think we're getting better. When you play a team like that that's been the No. 1 defense in the country the entire year, you have to. You have to not only hit, but you have to be willing to take the hits and keep coming because that's what it's going to be. If you buckle, if you fold, they're going to run right over you."– Mario Cristobal
