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The Miami Hurricanes football program is set to play for a national championship for the first time since 2003 after a 31-27 victory over Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.
However, the Hurricanes could well have won the game in far more comfortable fashion after running 28 more plays and controlling the ball for more than twice the amount of time of possession.
A day after the game, Miami coach Mario Cristobal appeared on ESPN College GameDay, where legendary coach Nick Saban, who also served as Cristobal’s boss and mentor at Alabama from 2013-16, said told him that the Hurricanes should have had more control of the game if Cristobal had done a better job coaching at the end of the first half.
Little did he know that Cristobal would flip the script on him.
Mario Cristobal Tells Nick Saban He Used His Rule For Fiesta Bowl Clock Management
Cristobal’s confusing clock management has been an issue for several years, dating back to his time as the head coach at Oregon.
With the Hurricanes leading the Rebels 17-10 late in the first half, he had a chance to extend the lead or, at worst, go into the half up a touchdown. Instead, Miami went three-and-out, and Ole Miss ended up kicking a field goal to cut the lead to 17-13 at the interval.
Saban was not a fan of how Cristobal coached the moment.
Saban: “You should have been ahead two scores by the half.”
Cristobal: “As by your standards, and I’ll show you your notebook if you want to.” 😭
This is gold 😂 (via @CollegeGameDay) pic.twitter.com/tlr1AiHJ6c
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 9, 2026
“The one thing that concerned me in the game is you dominated the game, dominated the game,” Saban said. “Your players dominated the game. And they kept shooting themselves in the foot. You know, you didn’t get stopped in the first half one time unless you stopped yourself with a penalty. 25-yard run holding penalty. Holding or a sack. And they converted those things into points, and that’s what kept them in the game.
“You should’ve been ahead two scores by the half. No question about it. The two-minute before the half where they stole three points. Or if you don’t have field position, it’s not like two-minute at the end of the game. We should have never let him get the ball back.”
Cristobal, however, said he was only following Saban’s lead.
“Coach, I hate to stop you, but let me correct you,” Cristobal said. “As by your standards, and I’ll show you your notebook if you want to- if you are under 45 seconds and at your 35, you try to pop a run or a screen. And if you do, you go. But with over a minute, and especially over 1:10, your philosophy was be aggressive and try to get points, and that’s what we did. So, there you go.”
“I need to see that. I may have changed my philosophies since then,” a visibly upset Saban replied.
It’s not often you can get the chance to one-up Nick Saban. But that’s exactly what Cristobal did here. And it’s a moment he’ll likely never forget.