The game had already been over for about 10 minutes on Saturday, but the Miami Hurricanes were going to soak this one in. They didn’t want to leave the field after their 41-17 thrashing of the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium — their first win in Gainesville since 2008. Their fans wanted to revel in the moment. Their fans did, too.
So the orange-and-green-clad crowd continued the party in the southeast corner of The Swamp for a little bit longer. And as the team finally departed down the tunnel, the fans gave one final message of affirmation.
“Mar-i-o! Mar-i-o!” they chanted to head coach Mario Cristobal, who threw up The U and riled up the crowd one final time.
“This is a big rivalry for us,” said Cristobal, in his third year coaching at his alma mater.
It was also a big win for the No. 19 Hurricanes (1-0). Cristobal had gotten off to a slow start to his UM coaching tenure, going just 12-13 in his first two seasons. Year 3 is a pivotal one, especially with a beefed up roster via the transfer portal and solid recruiting classes to go along with a, relatively speaking, easier schedule.