Hurricanes determined to ‘play for championships and win championships'

Yahoo

22-07-2025

When the College Football Playoff rankings debuted last year, the Hurricanes were in an excellent position.
Ranked fourth in Week 10, all Miami had to do was close the season strong. Beat Georgia Tech on the road, beat Wake Forest at home, end the season with a road win against Syracuse. Do all that, and UM would reach the ACC title game with an undefeated record, all but assuring the Hurricanes their first berth in the playoffs.
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Miami could not do it. The Hurricanes lost to Georgia Tech, rebounded against Wake Forest but then lost to Syracuse, missing out on a chance at the playoffs.
'We had a chance to win every single game, but we didn't,' Miami coach Mario Cristobal said at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte on Tuesday. 'The bottom line is we didn't get it done. … Without a doubt, finishing is a mentality. Finishing is a work ethic that comes with the offseason.
'We've always invested a ton of effort in those areas, and we've invested even more this offseason, and it will be a big part of training camp, as well.'
Cristobal and the Hurricanes' staff spent the offseason trying to improve the roster to get over that hump. They added former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck to replace Heisman finalist and top NFL draft pick Cam Ward. Cristobal fired defensive coordinator Lance Guidry and replaced him with former Minnesota defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman.
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Cristobal and Hetherman brought in three new defensive assistant coaches and overhauled the secondary, which was the team's weakest point last year.
'After Week 4 last year, we took a downturn,' Cristobal said. 'We slipped defensively. I don't want to blame anybody. I always look at myself and say, 'What could I have done better?' We had some injuries that led to some schematic changes that weren't the best for our football program, so a change had to be made, and we found a guy in Corey Hetherman. It's not the fact that he was a highly coveted guy, it's the fact that he is an elite teacher and human being and a guy that does really well what we need our defense to do and to be.'
Throughout the spring and now into summer, Miami's defensive players have been working on communication, which was a big issue for last year's defense.
'The biggest thing we've been emphasizing this offseason is communication,' defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor said. 'If you don't communicate, your defense is going to get just torched, right? Obviously we have a bunch of new additions, but communication is the biggest thing for us.'
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Miami starts fall camp in the coming weeks, and the goal is clear: improve on last season and achieve the goals that were within reach last year.
'The next step: keep progressing and take that next step as a team so we can play for championships and win championships,' Cristobal said in an interview with ACC Network.