Coaching Chess Match: Cristobal's CEO Style vs. Kiffin's Mad Scientist Lab

By Staff Writer

Styles Make Fights

You couldn't build two more opposite coaches in a lab. Mario Cristobal wants to beat you up. He recruits size, preaches physicality, and wants to run the ball down your throat in the fourth quarter to close out games. It's old-school. It's Alabama-lite (where he learned under Saban).

Lane Kiffin? He wants to embarrass you. He wants to score 50. He'll go for it on 4th and 8 from his own 40-yard line because the analytics chart says "Go."

The "Fourth Down" Factor

This is where the game will be won. Kiffin is significantly more aggressive.

• Ole Miss 4th Down Attempt Rate: Top 5 in the nation.
• Miami 4th Down Attempt Rate: Bottom half.

In a National Championship, conservative play-calling usually gets you beat (ask Kirby Smart against Alabama). Kiffin is willing to risk losing the game to win it. Cristobal sometimes plays "not to lose."

The X-Factor: Adjustment Speed

Kiffin scripts his first 15 plays brilliantly. Ole Miss almost always scores on their opening drive. But Cristobal's superpower is halftime adjustments. Miami has outscored opponents 145-60 in the third quarter this season.

If Ole Miss jumps out to a 14-0 lead, don't panic. That's part of the script. The real game starts when Cristobal gets his guys in the locker room and fixes the leak.