Every year brings hype. Every year brings hope. And somehow every year ends in the same familiar disappointment. The Miami Hurricanes once ruled the college football world, winning their last national championship in 2001, but things have changed in nearly two decades. The program is still iconic, the brand is still huge, and the fanbase? As passionate as ever. But when it comes to winning the big games, the ones that matter, Miami hasn’t delivered.

We don’t have to look back too long; just take a look at what happened last season. The Hurricanes were 9-0 after their first nine games. Then came the game against Georgia, and guess what? They lost it (23-28). Made a brilliant comeback in the next game, which was against Wake Forest (42-14), but couldn’t continue the momentum and lost the next two games, Syracuse (38-42) and Iowa State (41-42), respectively. And that’s why the former ESPN analyst David Pollack recently dropped a bold take on Mario Cristobal’s team.

“I’m never going to pick Miami to win anything of consequence, [it] is because I don’t think they’ve done a good job when they need it the most, and their staff needs to go get them a win and be organized. And I just like Cam Ward to me did it freestyling a lot.” Pollack said during his show See Ball Get Ball. He pointed fingers not at the players but at the coaching staff. He didn’t mince words and asked the staff to be organized and get the team a win.

Pollack also blamed the staff for being disorganized, which left their quarterback, Cam Ward, to ‘freestyle’ his way out of chaos. Ward was phenomenal last season, standing at 6 feet 2 inches, the 220-pounder racked up 4,313 passing yards, 39 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. He gave his everything in almost all the games, but the only thing he lacked was support.

They had the talent like they always have, but the collaboration and off-the-field work haven’t been top-notch, due to which they have missed out on many chances to be in the playoff conversation. Now that Cam Ward has moved to the NFL, the responsibility is on Carson Beck’s shoulders. And no one wants their QB to ‘freestyle’ again when they have a lot of talent on the roster. Amid all of that, Cristobal still sees a path.

Can Mario Cristobal flip the script for Miami and silence the doubters?

Mario Cristobal took over as Miami’s head coach in the 2022 season. He had a decent start, helping the program end the season with a record of 5-7. He improved a bit in 2023, ending the season with seven wins and six losses. His best came in the last season, helping the program to end the season with double-digit wins (10-3). Now Cristobal is entering his fourth year with Miami, and if you think Cristobal is backing down from the upcoming challenge, think again.

Cristobal was recently asked what it would mean to him to restore Miami back to a national title. In a conversation with On3, he said. “Everything, absolutely everything.” He continued, “I feel we owe Miami, does that make sense? A lot of times, being far away, watching from afar, you have to focus on your program. You catch the scores at the end of the day. I just remember being like ‘grr,’ as an alum [with losses by UM]. It means a lot to you. And I feel, all of us owe a ton to Miami. We were kids [playing at UM].” Cristobal clearly stated that winning the national title is everything, and he’s seen the program struggling for a long time, so now it’s his job to take them to the top.

“It’s a debt we all owe to come together and make it right. Going forward with hard work and bringing Miami football to modern-day football and facilities, which just got underway these past couple of weeks.” Cristobal said. He talks like someone who’s not just trying to win games, he’s trying to repay a debt. The Hurricanes are a recruiting powerhouse, but that doesn’t mean they can win the games easily if they’re strong on paper. They need to show consistency, composure, and coaching excellence, which have been lacking for years now.

There’s no question that Miami has raw talent in Carson Beck, Mark Fletcher Jr., and others. But the real question is: Can Cristobal and staff turn things around this season or not? There’s no doubt that they’re under high pressure, and if they fail again, more voices like David Pollack will only grow louder.