Mario Cristobal vs FSU football: Hurricanes coach's record vs Seminoles as player, coach
No one might be more familiar with the Florida State football rivalry with Miami than Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal.
The Miami coach played for the Hurricanes as an offensive lineman from 1989-92, served as an assistant coach for the program in two different stints and has been the program's coach since 2022.
That's precisely why — despite the Hurricanes and Seminoles entering Saturday's matchup with 7-0 and 1-6 records, respectively — Cristobal is ready to throw out the records. It's a rivalry game.
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Miami is a 21-point favorite over FSU, per BetMGM, no one on Miami's sideline will take the game lightly. Especially Cristobal.
"As a player, we never looked at the record,” Cristobal said on Monday. "Whatever the record of any team is in this rivalry, you’re going to get the best out of them, and they’re going to get the best out of you."
The Hurricanes sit at No. 5 in the US LBM Coaches Poll for Week 9 and have a real chance to contend for its first-ever ACC championship and its first berth in the College Football Playoff, which expanded to 12 teams starting with the 2024 college football season.
In many ways, this could be the biggest FSU-Miami game in which Cristobal has participated. Here's what you need to know about Cristobal's record against Florida State, including as a player and a coach:
Mario Cristobal player record vs Florida State
Cristobal grew up in Miami and played college football at Christopher Columbus High School before playing at Miami from 1989-92.
He was on the two national championships in 1989 and 1991 and went 3-1 in his four seasons as a player against FSU. On Oct. 28, 1989, the eighth-ranked Seminoles defeated No. 2 Miami 24-10 — the Hurricanes' only defeat in an 11-1 season that saw them win the Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama and finish as the top-ranked team in both the Coaches Poll and AP Top 25.
Over the next three seasons, Miami picked up three wins over FSU, with Cristobal playing on the offensive line. Here's a year-by-year look at the outcomes of those games:
1989: No. 9 Florida State 24, No. 2 Miami 10
1990: No. 8 Miami 31, No. 2 Florida State 22
1991: No. 2 Miami 17, No. 1 Florida State 16
1992: No. 2 Miami 19, No. 3 Florida State 16
Mario Cristobal assistant record vs Florida State
Cristobal served as a graduate assistant for the Hurricanes from 1998 to 2000. In that span, the Hurricanes went 1-2 vs. FSU. He returned as the tight ends coach in 2004-05 and was promoted to offensive line coach in 2006. Once again, the Hurricanes went 1-2 vs. the Seminoles.
His overall record as an assistant vs. Miami is 2-4. Here's a year-by-year breakdown:
1998: No. 8 Florida State 26, Miami 14
1999: No. 1 Florida State 31, No. 19 Miami 21
2000: No. 8 Miami 27, No. 2 Florida State 24
2004: No. 5 Miami 16, No. 6 Florida State 10 (OT)
2005: No. 12 Florida State 10, No. 8 Miami 7
2006: No. 10 Florida State 13, No. 11 Miami 10
Mario Cristobal coaching record vs Florida State
Cristobal has yet to beat FSU as a head coach. He's 0-2 in the first two years vs. the Seminoles, including a 45-3 loss to FSU in 2022 in Miami Gardens and a 27-20 loss last season in Tallahassee.
Here's a look at Cristobal's record vs. Florida State as Miami head coach:
2022: Florida State 45, Miami 3
2023: No. 4 Florida State 27, Miami 20
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Mario Cristobal record vs Florida State as player, coach
