The Miami Hurricanes opened their 2024 football season with a 41-17 blowout over the Florida Gators. Mario Cristobal had every reason to celebrate a huge road rivalry win.
Cristobal oversaw arguably the biggest victory of his Miami tenure at Gainesville. Following the game, the head coach mocked Gators fans at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
A video surfaced on social media of Cristobal putting a symbolic exclamation point on the win. While turned to the crowd, Cristobal performed a Gators chomp before emphatically breaking apart his hands over his knee.
Here’s a look at the viral moment:
https://t.co/LRJVsN9HYZ pic.twitter.com/gKFfcw19k6
— Xavier RASPtrepo (@cover2nobueno) September 1, 2024
The Hurricanes left no doubt about Saturday’s outcome when thoroughly outplaying their Florida nemesis.
In a sensational Miami debut, Cam Ward completed 26 of 35 pass attempts for 385 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. The transfer quarterback connected with fifth-year senior Xavier Restrepo for 112 yards and a touchdown.
“Yeah, he’s not bad. Special, special guy,” Cristobal said of Ward after the game, via CaneSport’s Gary Ferman. “All the stuff you guys were probably wondering during camp. They talked a lot about Cam Ward – is he really that good? Yeah, he’s just scratching the surface.”
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes limited the Gators to 122 passing yards and one conversion on nine third-down tries. Cristobal’s defense tallied three sacks and two interceptions at The Swamp.
Saturday marked Miami’s first game at Gainesville since 2008 and first victory at Florida’s home stadium since 2002. Cristobal didn’t understate the importance of winning the rivalry showdown when calling the Week 1 success a “really big step” for his program.
“You think this game was big? You think the amount of animosity and hatred, bad blood between the fanbases, you think it amped it up a little bit? Come on, it was through the roof. It was off the charts.”
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