SMU's Rhett Lashlee fires back at Miami's Mario Cristobal for postgame comments

Jeff Hauser

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SMU's Rhett Lashlee fires back at Miami's Mario Cristobal for postgame comments image

SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee fired back at Miami’s Mario Cristobal following the Mustangs’ 26-20 overtime win Saturday, disputing the Hurricanes coach’s postgame claim that SMU had mimicked Miami’s snap count.

Cristobal's team committed 12 penalties for 96 yards in the loss. He told reporters that false starts and offensive miscues were partly due to SMU imitating Miami’s count. 

"We try to report when our cadence is being mimicked, but that didn’t get any traction,” Cristobal said. “That happens in football, so no excuses. There’s not enough discipline as it relates to just holding our water and not jumping offsides.”

Lashlee took to social media on Sunday with his thoughts. “No snap counts were mimicked (confirmed by the obvious zero flags called for it) – however – that Ford Stadium crowd was rocking all day!!!” Lashlee wrote on X. “Drawing multiple false starts and delay of games and timeouts! Thank you Mustang Family!! You were the difference yesterday!”

SMU fans stormed the field after the win, which marked the program’s first home victory over a top-10 opponent since 1974. The Mustangs improved to 6-3, while Miami dropped to 6-2 and saw its ACC title and College Football Playoff hopes fade.

For Cristobal, the defeat continued the late-season struggle. Miami is 4-11 in November or later since he took over in 2022. 

“You always give credit to the opponent,” Cristobal said. “When you make that many mistakes, it’s on everybody in the organization. You allow yourself to be put in a position where you can get beat."

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News Correspondent