Editor’s note: Saturday Road’s annual Crystal Ball prediction series continues today with Miami. Next up, we’ll preview North Carolina.

Previously: Boston College | Clemson | Duke | Florida State | Georgia Tech | Louisville

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Mario Cristobal’s triumphant return to The U didn’t go exactly according to plan.

Instead of strutting into town and immediately returning the Hurricanes to the championship glory he helped them achieve as a player, the newly hired coach suffered through a 5-7 disaster that included an upset loss to Middle Tennessee State and a one-sided thrashing at the hands of rival Florida State.

Cristobal’s response to the disappointment was a time-tested one. He shifted the blame to the players and culture left behind by his predecessor.

Twenty-nine of Manny Diaz’s players left the program in an offseason house cleaning, 20 through the transfer portal and 9 others who exhausted their eligibility. 

Now that he’s replenished the roster with a dozen veteran transfers and a top-5 national recruiting class, Cristobal is ready to flush last season, hit reset and start anew with a team constructed in his own image.

“Whenever you start up at a program again and it has a rebuilding aspect, you have to sometimes go through a season like that and not make any excuse or sugarcoat it,” said the former Miami offensive lineman, who helped the Hurricanes win national titles in 1989 and ‘91. “You go directly at the things that need to be addressed and it starts with people.

“What we feel that we have done is that we have added some elite components in the personnel department, some unique additions at the line of scrimmage, outside on the perimeter, in the secondary at linebacker. I feel like our culture led and driven by our team leaders has created ownership in our program.”

Miami’s extreme makeover wasn’t just limited to the players on the field. Cristobal also parted ways with both of his 2022 coordinators – Josh Gattis on offense and Kevin Steele on defense – and replaced them with Shannon Dawson from Houston and Marshall’s Lance Guidry.

After a debut season that left everyone associated with the Hurricanes in a tropical depression, Cristobal is counting on the new combination of players and staff to bring about a sunnier forecast this fall.

He has a lot riding on a quick turnaround. If it doesn’t happen, this time it’s on him.

Clash of cultures

Cristobal loves to talk about culture and its importance in building a winning program.

Especially at a place like Miami.

But it’s not something that happens overnight. As he learned last season, sometimes you have to tear things down to build them back better.

“Our blueprint, our culture, is physical, demanding and accountability driven. The culture we walked into was opposite of that,” he said. “I hate to put it bluntly, but when those 2 cultures and mentalities collide, you gotta go through what you gotta go through.”

In that respect, last year’s struggles could turn into a positive because of the lessons that were learned by returners such as All-American safety Kamren Kinchens.

“Sometimes you need 1 of those years just to let everybody know what we don’t want,” he said. “So we’ve kind of grown from there.”

Kinchens didn’t name names, but he suggested that there were some weren’t interested in embracing Cristobal’s way of doing things.

And the Hurricanes paid the price with a losing record.

Kinchens believes that this year will be different. Miami’s roster has changed, and there are new coordinators on both sides of the ball. There’s also more buy-in to the culture.

“You just didn’t feel that (last year),” he said. “Guys weren’t getting extra work. There were little things that were happening on an everyday basis that great teams have that I guess we didn’t have. 

“Every team is going to have injuries, some more than others that can affect a team’s roster. But at the same time there are certain things you need to have. “You’ve got to bring guys that want to win, who want to put in the hard work and know that it’s not going to be easy.”

Quarterback protection plan

Because of injuries that limited him to only 9 games last season, Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke wasn’t able to build on the foundation he set in 2021 when he was named the ACC’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

So to ensure that Van Dyke stays upright and healthy this year, Cristobal made it a priority to fortify the offensive line. He did it by bringing in transfer center Matt Lee from UCF, rated the 3rd-highest player at his position in 2022 by Pro Football Focus, and Alabama guard Javion Cohen.

“That was our goal the entire offseason, how we wanted to improve our offensive line,” Van Dyke said. “Adding guys like Matt and Javion is huge.”

Speaking of huge, the biggest additions to the line are a pair of 5-star freshman tackles, 6-5, 330-pound Francis Mauigoa and 6-5, 303-pound Samson Okunlola, both of whom are much more physically mature than their ages.

“It’s crazy,” Van Dyke said. “Francis is a monster. Samson is a monster. I think both of those guys will have a chance right away. They’re already built like they’re 4th-year guys. I’m excited to see what they can do.”

Re-booting a rivalry

Miami and Louisville don’t have a rivalry in the traditional sense of the word. 

At least not yet.

That might soon change now that the Hurricanes and Cardinals have been designated as “permanent opponents” and will play every season under the ACC’s new 3-5-5 scheduling format. If that wasn’t enough to up the ante when they play, they’ll also be playing for possession of a trophy.

Actually, it’s a pair of bronze cowboy boots once owned by the legendary Howard Schnellenberger, who coached Miami to its 1st national championship in 1983 and was at Louisville from 1985-94.

It’s a memento that’s especially meaningful to Cristobal.

“I knew Coach Schnellenberger personally,” Cristobal said. “He recruited me. He recruited my brother. I don’t think people realize what he did at the University of Miami. When he got there in 1979, the program was really up in the air. Four years later, in his very epic statement, he said, ‘We’re on a collision course with the national championship. The only variable is time.’ He made that a reality.

“I’m grateful to him. He made the game better. (The trophy) is a great way to honor him.”

New Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm played for Schnellenberger, quarterbacking his Louisville teams  from ‘89-93.

Game-by-game predictions

Week 1: vs. Miami (Ohio) (W)

Will the real Miami please stand up? Welcome to the matchup once dubbed “The Confusion Bowl,” a game in which the buildup will undoubtedly be more interesting than the actual game. But at least 1 thing is certain. It’s a mortal lock that Miami will win. Of course, it’s also a sure thing that Miami will lose.

Week 2: vs. Texas A&M (L)

The Hurricanes’ 2022 season began to go off the rails in College Station with a listless offensive performance in a 17-9 loss to an Aggies team that was beaten by Appalachian State the previous week. This year’s rematch is at Hard Rock Stadium and it’s winnable if the defense can play as well as it did in last year’s game. A victory would go a long way toward kick starting the Hurricanes’ fortunes back in the right direction. But that will have to wait for another day.

Week 3: vs. Bethune-Cookman (W)

Terrell Walden II. Remember the name. Who is he? He’s a walkon running back whose dad played cornerback for the Hurricanes. He got into last year’s 70-13 rout of the Wildcats and scored a touchdown. Here’s another chance to run for him to run to glory.

Week 4: at Temple (W)

A good chance to pick up a cheesesteak and a win against a team that went 3-9 last year. Unless it becomes another Middle Tennessee State.

Week 5: Open

Week 6: vs. Georgia Tech (W)

The Hurricanes were a mess last season, but they still beat the Yellow Jackets 35-14. They’ll be better and healthier this year. And the game is in Miami.

Week 7: at North Carolina (L)

The duel between Heisman Trophy contender Drake Maye and the Hurricanes’ All-American safety Kinchens will be fun to watch. So will Van Dyke vs. UNC’s rebuilt secondary. Get out your calculators. Points will be scored on both sides. A lot of them. But the Tar Heels will score more.

Week 8: vs. Clemson (L)

A measuring stick game for the Hurricanes. They aren’t going to beat the defending ACC champions. But they’ll make the Tigers work a lot harder for their win than they did in last year’s 40-10 drubbing at Death Valley.

Week 9: vs. Virginia (W)

Another opportunity for Cristobal and his team to show how far they’ve come since 2022. Miami won 12-9 last year in Charlottesville. But it took 4 overtimes for either team to get the ball into the end zone in one of the ugliest games between ACC teams in recent memory. Van Dyke didn’t play that day because of injury. He’ll be a difference maker this time. 

Week 10: at NC State (W)

The Hurricanes catch the Wolfpack between an emotional game against Clemson and a grudge match with in-state nemesis Wake Forest. It’s a trap game and Miami is good enough to take advantage. Especially against an opponent that always seems to lose at least 1 game it shouldn’t lose every year.

Week 11: at Florida State (L)

The Seminoles embarrassed the Hurricanes last year in Coral Gables. The memory of that 45-3 homecoming beatdown will be a motivating factor that helps produce a much more competitive result in Tallahassee this year. Even then, the improvement won’t be enough to take down a rival with championship aspirations.

Week 12: vs. Louisville (L)

It’s appropriate that the trophy being awarded to the winner of this game is named in honor of Schnellenberger. Because when the competing teams are relatively equal in talent, as these 2 are, coaching usually ends up making the difference. Cristobal is an elite recruiter. Brohm is a better game coach. Advantage, Cardinals.

Week 13: at Boston College (W)

Black Friday in Boston. The Eagles could potentially be playing to save their coach’s job. The Hurricanes will be playing to ensure a winning record and earn a better bowl destination. Just make sure to dress warm and don’t eat too much turkey and dressing the night before.

2023 projection: 7-5 (4-4)

#ItsAllAboutTheU

Cristobal received a hero’s welcome and generated a groundswell of excitement upon his hiring from Oregon last year. But the honeymoon with his school’s impatient fan base ended quickly after a stunning loss to Middle Tennessee State in just his 4th game back.

Things never got much better as the Hurricanes stumbled to a 5-7 record, missing out on the postseason.

That disappointment has only upped the ante as Cristobal heads into Year 2 facing even higher expectations with a roster that looks a lot different thanks to a massive offseason overhaul.

He’s not on the hot seat. But he can certainly feel some warmth on his backside. It’s a challenge he fully understands and embraces.

“You just keep learning and growing all the time. We take that as doctrine,” Cristobal said. “When you assess and go through the areas of improvement, you attack it through personnel acquisition and through adapting your schemes to the people in support staff roles and what they can do to help you get ahead.”

Cristobal accomplished both of those goals by bolstering his offensive line through the transfer portal and the recruitment of 2 5-star tackles, improving his secondary with the addition of veteran corners Davonte Brown, Jaden Davis and Jadais Richard, as well as adding depth to the linebacking corps, defensive back and running back. 

He revamped his staff and will get several key holdovers back from injury. Including his quarterback.

The offseason moves will undoubtedly feed into the annual narrative that The U is finally on the verge of returning to its past glory.

And the Hurricanes will be better this year.

But let’s not get carried away. At least not yet.