COPPELL, Texas – The No. 10 seed Miami Hurricanes (11-2, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) practiced for just more than an hour on Tuesday morning in the final on-field preparation for its New Year's Eve matchup with the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1, 9-0 Big Ten Conference) at AT&T Stadium.

Head Coach Mario Cristobal led his squad through a workout at the indoor facility at Coppell High School. Following the practice, Coach Christobal traveled to AT&T Stadium to participate in a head coaches press conference, alongside Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day.

Miami has arrived in the CFP Quarterfinal round after a challenging regular season and hard-fought 10-3 first-round playoff win over Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. During the press conference, Cristobal reflected on the moments that helped his team form a bond and define the course of its season.

"Tough to single out a moment," said Cristobal. "I would say the humidity and heat of South Florida and training in it was probably the biggest thing.

"I would say, if you had to point out a moment during the course of the season, it was -- you know, after the loss at SMU, it was difficult to see past the front of your nose, and you had to have resiliency about yourself, and you had to have the ability to uplift your teammates and the people around you. And everyone in the entire organization just did a really, really good job of coming together and being our own best fans, if that makes sense. Making sure that we all understood that within the building, we're our biggest supporters. We are our best family members and that we're going to find a way to put ourselves in a situation where we could have a chance to go into the postseason."

The Hurricanes and Buckeyes are meeting for the fifth time in the history of their storied programs. The series is tied at 2-2 with Miami boasting a win in the most recent meeting, a 24-6 home victory on Sept. 17, 2011. Ohio State defeated the Hurricanes 31-24 in double overtime in the Bowl Championship Series national championship game played at the 32nd Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz. on Jan. 3, 2003.
 
Wednesday night's matchup marks Cristobal's second game against the Buckeyes as a head coach; a Cristobal-led Oregon knocked off OSU, 35-28, to end the program's 23-game win streak at The Horseshoe on Sept. 11, 2021.
 
Cristobal knows that if the Hurricanes are going to have success against the Buckeyes this time around, they will need to limit the effectiveness of Ohio State's dynamic quarterback Julian Sayin.
 
"Well, to us, we thought he was a sure-fire Heisman finalist," said Cristobal. "He has complete control of the offense. Extremely accurate. He gets in the right place. He knows where pressure is coming, where it's not coming, where he's protected and where he's not, and he delivers the ball on the run, in the pocket, on the move. Certainly, a guy that can beat you a lot of ways, and he can extend plays, he can improvise.
 
"He does not look like a young guy playing in the position. He looks like a guy that's been there for a long time that has complete control of the offense."
 
The 2025 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the 90th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic is Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and ESPN Radio. Kickoff is slated for 6:40 p.m.
 
This year's Classic is a part of the ESPN bowl lineup for the 12th straight year. Dave Pasch and Dusty Dvoracek are set to the call the action from the booth with Quint Kessenich and Taylor McGregor reporting from the sidelines. ESPN Radio returns as the Classic's national radio partner for the 12th consecutive year with Mike Couzens and Max Starks in the booth and Morgan Uber on the sidelines to describe all the action from AT&T Stadium.

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