There was no turnover chain after Camren Kinchens extended his diving interception on Saturday. Only a scolding from the coach awaited safety as he returned to the sidelines in the first quarter of the Miami Hurricanes’ 70–13 loss. FCS Bethune Cookman Wildcats Miami Gardens.
While Mario Cristobal crouched in front of them and screamed on the same bench that many hurricanes sent the crowds of Hard Rock Stadium into a frenzy and once wore the iconic chains, the Kinchens took their place instead. sat with his defensive teammates. After his interception, Kinchens spiked the ball and the flag flew for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The coach pointed at it and ordered it to be put away.
“You have to knock it out. Rules are rules. We don’t play football our way. We play by the rules of football,” said Cristobal. “We have to feel and act in a way that we are used to. You know what you need to do now that you expect it? Your teammates and the rest of the stadium. should rock and frenzy.
“Teaching moments are everything. That’s what we’re here for.”
Gone are the days of turnover chains. Cristobal’s time has come. It’s different, and Miami believes it can get better.
In Game 1, the Hurricanes put together a performance that rivaled the best early-season feats of recent regimes, perfecting the takeaway that Miami made its identity when former coach Manny Diaz was at the helm.
They gave up 342 total yards and 6.1 yards per play, but the Hurricanes erased most of their mistakes with three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, leaving only the first one with the flag flying. did.
In the second, redshirt junior Gilbert Friarson stole a deflected pass out of the air, dove into the end zone for a touchdown, and danced in front of his teammates and crowd. James Williams lined up almost like an outside linebacker and jumped a short pass for the pick.
“You’re actually seeing the same thing,” said defensive lineman Hakeem Mesidor, who deflected the pass that led to Friarson’s interception.
Messidor also recorded two sacks for Miami, and the Hurricanes added a blocked field goal to special teams. It was just Bethune Cookman, but it was a promising performance for this new-look defense, led by new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, and he got it done without the temptation of chains waiting in the box on the bench.
Ultimately, the chain (or the absence of one) doesn’t mean much, but its absence is part of the larger cultural change that Cristobal seeks to implement at Coral Gables.
This is Miami “back to work,” rather than simply back, as Cristóbal likes to say. Though he’s played for the Hurricanes and coached during their supremely festive glory days, Cristobal is never about mayhem and wants to instill a workmanlike attitude throughout the program.
The player at the top of the roster has bought-in. “We celebrated too much,” Tyler Van Dyke said when asked to assess what he needed to improve after the season-opening loss.
“I was talking to Coach Cristóbal about it, and I know who he is. He doesn’t really like that extra celebration, so I think it needs to be a little more subdued,” the quarterback said, telling his coach. Echoed even more clearly, “We have to eliminate it.”
Cristóbal’s lively moments were remembered by the defense after the game. When the reporter brought the scene to Friarson, the defenders burst into laughter with wide smiles on their faces.
His new coach has only been in South Florida for less than nine months, and a complete cultural shift is imminent. It’s still a work in progress and Hurricanes made some in the first week.
“We don’t stop chopping,” Frierson said. “We keep going, we keep going, we keep going.
Maryland native David Wilson is a utility man in sports coverage for the Miami Herald.
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