COLLEGE STATION, TX – It ended with a smooch.
Mario Cristobal could’ve done without that smacker.
Moments after Miami upset Texas A&M 10-3 in a College Football Playoff game, former Hurricanes wide receiver Michael Irvin found Cristobal and kissed him on the cheek during his on-field postgame interview with ESPN.
“That,” Cristobal said, “was disgusting.”
Cristobal laughed in the moment, in response to Irvin’s hijinks, but upon further reflection …
“I couldn’t find enough wipeys to clean myself,” Cristobal joked.
Call it the cost of victory — and the realities of the effervescent Irvin being one of the program’s biggest supporters.
“That guy means so much to the program, to its fan base, to our community,” said Cristobal, himself a former Miami player. “The pride is returning to so many former players.”
Pucker up, because the Hurricanes are on to the CFP quarterfinals.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.