September 20 has been extremely special for college football fans. A rivalry just got recharged. The rivalry between Mario Cristobal’s Miami and Billy Napier’s Florida is one of the most historic yet overlooked in college football. The Gators and the Hurricanes have only played a handful of times in the last 40 years. But so what? The rivalry thrives on decades of history and pure bad blood. And guess who got a reason to fulfill his wish surrounding this rivalry? None other than Cristobal. The Hurricanes landed a 26-7 defeat to Napier’s Gators. And after wrapping up the game, he opened up his wishlist, “We don’t get to play these guys again. This game should be on the schedule every year…” Looks like the rivalry has now become a fuel for Cristobal and co. to push harder.

The ’Canes and Gators first faced off back in 1938, before Florida State football existed. Who won that game? Miami went home with a 19-17 victory. With the Seminoles out of the picture, Florida’s spotlight fell on the Gators and Hurricanes. Their rivalry quickly became a South Florida tradition, with yearly battles swapping between Gainesville and Miami. In Cristobal’s tenure, this season’s face-off marked his second encounter against Napier. And the Miami head coach’s heart craves for more such encounters in the near future. 

Looks like Cristobal has adopted the strategy of treating your rivals as equals and not as the weaker force. During a live appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, the Miami head coach went all-in praise about the Gators squad. “They’re one of the most talented teams we’ve seen in four years….” praised Cristobal. “They’ve got speed, size, scheme and great coaching. They’re as good as any team that we have faced. We always expect everybody’s best and we’re looking forward to an unbelievable opportunity.” What made Cristobal claim so?

The last time the rival head coaches squared off was when Cam Ward made his Miami debut. Ward launched his historic season by torching the Gators 41–17 in the Swamp, a loss that ended Florida’s 33-year home opener streak and went down as the program’s worst season-opening defeat in 118 years. So, Cristobal knows how the Gators had hit rock bottom last season. Napier’s Florida had a good start this season, with a 55-0 blowout win against LIU. But since then, they fell prey to a losing streak and took back-to-back three losses. 

In this case, David Pollack seemed to differ from Cristobal’s take on Florida. Unlike the praise from the Miami head coach, the analyst came with a blunt analysis. “Here’s the thing that going back and watching Florida that really bothered me from a week ago…. Like DJ Lagway, had time to throw the football, Brent. But I see the same type of stuff that I saw a year ago,” said Pollack. Facing Florida again remains on Cristobal’s bucket list, yet the Hurricane faithful have delivered on another of his dreams.

Mario Cristobal gave full marks to the Miami fans

The Miami head coach has been known to play mental tricks with his players. It was clear Cristobal planned to roll out a new game plan for Florida, straying from his usual scheme. This was confirmed by Miami safety Jakobe Thomas. “Everybody is coming for us for the same reason. So if you look at it as a rivalry, then your emotions start to get involved, and it’s no longer business. So we go into the building every day. Nameless, faceless opponents. We’re just here to work and be the best version of ourselves. Coach Cristobal really preaches that,” revealed the player.

Well, Cristobal did not limit his trick-playing to the players. Fans were a part of it too. Miami packed the house in its season opener, setting a new attendance record against No. 6 Notre Dame. But maybe that was not enough. To charge up the loyalists a bit more, Cristobal came up with a vocal tonic.  He ordered before the Florida face-off, “It has to be an asylum on Saturday. Our friends have done a great job bringing the juice, the energy, really involved, really, really involved. And certainly, we appreciate that energy is just contagious.”

And after the game, the crowd received full marks from the head coach. As Will Manso tweeted, “Mario Cristobal praising the sellout crowd: “We asked for an asylum. They gave us that. They impacted the game.”” Cutting the capacity to 65,000 didn’t stop the energy. If all 75,000 seats were available, they still would’ve sold out.