The CaneSport staff will tackle several key questions this offseason as Miami looks to put together its second 10-win season in the last two decades and make a run for the playoffs. Today we answer the question of whether or not Florida is a must-win game for Mario Cristobal and the Canes:
GARY FERMAN
This is the start of year three for Mario Cristobal and yes, it is time to make a move and a very loud statement. On face value this is a road game against a state rival at an SEC venue. That’s a very tough out under normal circumstances. But these are not normal circumstances. Florida is reeling, Miami is believed to be surging. There is only one way to prove the reality of that notion. That is to win August 31 in Gainesville. So yes, that makes this game a must win. You can make this argument for so many reasons beyond the first one that I pointed out here. Think about the investment that has been made in Miami football since Cristobal came on board. There is one return on investment for the people who put up the money. Winning. Being part of a winner. The 2024 schedule is not a very good one. There are not many opportunities for signature victories. I don’t know if beating the Gators in their current state would qualify as a signature win. But it will have to do for right now. Miami has fortified its roster with a lot of very good players. It has a better quarterback in Cam Ward than it has had in a very long time. The coaches have to find a way to pull this all together and simply win. It all starts with a must win clash at The Swamp.
MATT SHODELL
Yes, Florida is a must-win game for Mario Cristobal. The expectations have been ratcheted up to a level not seen in a long time this off-season with the addition of QB Cam Ward, RB Damien Martinez and the other transfer portal pickups plus returning talent ranging from 1,000-yard receiver Xavier Restrepo to Freshman All-American Rueben Bain and leading tackler Francisco Mauigoa. To fall flat in the season-opener against a hated rival that had a losing record the last three seasons wouldn’t just be disheartening, it would be crushing. Because in reality this is one of the easiest schedules I can remember – no Clemson, NC State or UNC in the ACC and no out-of-conference major opponent that had a winning record a year ago. Lose to Florida and you basically have to win the rest of your games to make this a playoff season … and what Miami fans really want is the playoffs, not an ACC title game berth. The Canes are slight underdogs in the way-too-early polls to Louisville and FSU, by one point apiece, and are favored vs. UF by two points. It’s time for this program to make a statement in year 3 of Mario Cristobal. Enough is enough. This retooled roster HAS to show some progress. The outside noise from the fan base if this team loses to the Gators will be immense, perhaps with negative recruiting connotation that come with it, especially if there are a couple more hiccups the rest of the year. So yeah, this is must-win territory. It’s games like this why Miami went out and spent all the money on Mario, why the NIL $ was ratcheted up … to make the Canes relevant again. Losing in the opener to a team that nobody has real high expectations for would cause a deafening “here we go again” feeling for Miami fans.
IZUBEE CHARLES
For the first time since 2019, the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Gators will clash on the gridiron in The Swamp to open up the 2024 campaign for Mario Cristobal and company in what I think is one of, if not the most important games for the Canes. Over the last five months since the end of Miami’s 7-6 season, the Hurricanes have brought in several top transfer portal additions to bolster their roster, starting with Cam Ward, Damien Martinez, Mishael Powell, Elijah Alston, Zach Carpenter, Simeon Barrow, CJ Clark, Tyler Baron and so on, along with key returners such as Rueben Bain, Xavier Restrepo, and the Mauigoa brothers back in the fold. Miami’s roster is as good as it’s been in recent memory, and expectations are very high in Coral Gables after a solid spring as well. Losing your season opener against a Florida team that is coming off three straight losing seasons would simply be disastrous after the offseason Miami had and raise questions about whether things are ever going to change in Coral Gables. Miami needs a statement win against a bitter in-state rival to start the year and get the ball rolling, or things may get a bit bumpy early down in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes are in win-now mode, and starting the year with a loss to the Gators, in my opinion, could be disastrous for many reasons, from a recruitment standpoint, team morale, and more. A win, on the other hand, is a great momentum builder for the Hurricanes who have a bit of a favorable schedule and step in the right direction to kick off the season.
STEPHEN WAGNER
I have no doubt Miami’s season opener is a must-win game for Cristobal, who has had recruiting success but is yet to notch a true signature win as the Hurricanes’ head coach. Yes, Miami knocked off Clemson last season, but the Tigers weren’t near the powerhouse they’ve largely been for the last decade and were unranked when Miami knocked them off. You could also argue this season that Florida, whose over/under is set at 5.5 wins, wouldn’t quite be a signature win either, but knocking off the Gators would quell a lot of anxiety for Hurricanes fans. If Miami loses to Florida, however, there will be immediate questions about Cristobal’s decisions as a head coach and not just a recruiter, and fans will probably wonder if the program is still heading in a positive direction. If Miami wins, Cristobal can breathe a sigh of relief. If Miami loses, especially to a Florida team fresh off a five-win season last year and a 2024 recruiting class that fell apart at the last minute, Miami’s staff will have to deal with one angry fan base. After all, what does this level of talent acquisition matter if you can’t win when it counts?
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