When the final horn sounded on Miami 24, Ohio State 14 on Wednesday night, it was a moment of celebration for everyone associated with Miami football except its head coach. ESPN's cameras showed Cristobal scanning the AT&T Stadium field for a moment with his family, and then it was on to the next task: the obligatory postgame television interview, a quick chat with his former coach Jimmy Johnson, the trophy celebration, and on, and on, and on.
From afar, Cristobal had the look of someone who would immediately start breaking down film if it were up to him. Miami has won two monumental games in the past two weeks. Right now, all it means to him is the opportunity to win two more.
In a larger scale, Cristobal is doing what he was hired to do, and in his mind he's paying back what he owes his program and everyone that works under him.
"I have very little care to do anything as it relates to me. I'm being honest with you, and I'll tell you why," Cristobal said after the game.
"This operation is about 150 people, you tie in families it's about 600 people. We all live and die by the moves that we make and the work we put in, so it is 100 percent not about me. I'm part of their team, I'm part of that family, and it is my obligation as a former Miami Hurricane player and all the things that Miami did for my brother and I, to do my best and try to provide these guys with even better opportunities so they can fulfill all the great things they are destined for. I am part of a great team, and I'm proud to be part of a great team."
Miami went 5-7 in Cristobal's debut season of 2022. The improvement from there has been steady, but gradual. The 'Canes were 7-6 in 2023, a year that ended with a Pinstripe Bowl loss to Rutgers and is best remembered by the Georgia Tech loss, where Miami could have ended the game by taking a knee, then fumbling and allowing a game-losing 4-play, 74-yard touchdown drive in the final minute. 2024 was the Cam Ward Year, where Miami led the nation in scoring behind the No. 1 pick in the draft but saw a 9-0 start devolve into a 10-2 finish because the defense fell apart in November.
This year's team was 6-2 and ranked No. 18 in early November. They did not actually join the CFP field until Selection Sunday, but they've now won six in a row while allowing no more than 17 points in any of those games -- and 17 total in CFP wins over Texas A&M and Ohio State, both times as an underdog.
Cristobal isn't concerned with The U being back, or his legacy, or stopping to smell the roses just yet. The only declarative statement he made on Wednesday night is that, 14 games in with a 15th coming next week, Miami is still getting better.