''We've Got the City Behind Us''

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – They’re images Wesley Bissainthe won’t be forgetting any time soon.

As the Hurricanes made their way back to campus earlier this month after beating Mississippi in the Fiesta Bowl to clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff Championship, fans lined the streets, waving and cheering as Miami’s buses went by.

When the Hurricanes finally arrived back at the Hecht Athletic Center, they were greeted by even more well-wishers, fans eager to celebrate Miami’s memorable CFP run with them.

It’s a run that’s taken the Hurricanes from Coral Gables to College Station, Texas; then back to Texas to play in Dallas; then to Glendale, Arizona and has finally brought them right back to where their journey began – home.

And now, as Miami gears up for Monday’s championship showdown against No. 1 Indiana (15-0) at Hard Rock Stadium, players like Bissainthe aren’t taking any of this experience – or the support from the South Florida community – for granted.

“It’s been big. Just seeing everybody when we were on the buses, just everybody outside their house throwing up ‘The U,’ it made us feel great,” said the linebacker, a Miami native. “We know they’re behind us and that we’ve got the city behind us on this journey.”

While the Hurricanes (13-2) have clinched three of their five national titles after playing at home in past Orange Bowl Classics, Monday’s game marks the first time since 2015 – when the first CFP Championship game was played – that a team will have the opportunity to play for a national title in its home stadium.

Understandably, that’s a big deal for the 10^th-ranked Hurricanes, even if they’ll be the visitors on the scoreboard and will be opposite the sideline they usually occupy at Hard Rock Stadium.

“This is a stadium we’ve all grinded in. We ran the stairs and we literally shed tears, sweat, blood, all that good stuff. It means a lot, being able to have this opportunity to come home and do what we do,” said defensive end Rueben Bain Jr., who like Bissainthe, hails from Miami and starred at Miami Central High School. “This is something the city [has] been needing for a long time. Just walking throughout Miami now, I can’t go anywhere without somebody saying, ‘Go Canes,’ just talking about bringing it home and getting it done.

“You can tell the pride the city [has] within this University and this program, so getting it done is all that matters.”

But getting to getting play one more game at their home stadium, where they went 7-1 this season, isn’t the only benefit the Hurricanes are enjoying ahead of Monday’s championship matchup.

After wrapping up CFP Media Day interviews at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Saturday morning, the Hurricanes returned to Coral Gables to continue preparing for Monday’s game at a place they know well – the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility and the Greentree Practice fields on Miami’s campus.

There, they had the luxury to use their own building, their team meeting rooms and their locker room.

That, too, has been an opportunity none of the Hurricanes have taken for granted, especially after playing their last six games on the road.

“Not in a bad way, but the last few weeks, we’ve been traveling all around,” said offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez, another Miami native. “We’re going from practice facility to practice facility and it’s just almost comforting to get to go home and do our routine at school where we always do our meetings and our practices. We just get to continue the ritual that’s gotten us here to this point today.”

And for one Hurricanes family in particular, Monday’s home game is a special boon.

Linda Fletcher – the mother of running back Mark Fletcher Jr. – has made national headlines this season because of her preference for driving, not flying, to all of Miami’s road games.

Despite her son’s encouragement to get out from behind the wheel and get on a plane, Linda has happily logged thousands of miles driving across the country.

She won’t have to drive many more her son play for a championship.

“I know she’s extremely pumped. We didn’t even really talk about it yet, but my girl’s only got to do 15 minutes [of driving] this time,” Mark Fletcher Jr. said. “So, she’s good.”

Cafecito Power

Before Miami’s CFP opener at Texas A&M last month, fans seated near the Hurricanes’ tunnel at Kyle Field noticed what has become a mini tradition of sorts: Miami’s specialists downing shots of Cuban coffee before kickoff.

Fans filmed the oh-so-Miami moment – along with special teams analyst Ferras Isa’s cafecito-fueled pep talk – and the video went viral after being posted on social media.

A similar scene was also recorded ahead of Miami’s win over Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl, and well, it’s no surprise the Hurricanes’ specialists – and head coach Mario Cristobal – were asked about their high-octane pre-game ritual at Saturday’s media day event.

“It definitely gives you some energy. I mean, the coffee down here is different, so it definitely gives you some energy,” said long snapper Michael Donovan. “But it is also a bonding thing. It’s obviously something we love to do and hopefully it stays a Miami specialist tradition forever.”

Said Cristobal, “Ferras makes the best coffee on the staff. It’s part of his obligations and duties as an assistant coach. And he does, he makes the best one.”

When asked where to get the best Cuban coffee when he’s outside of Miami’s facility, however, Cristobal wasn’t quite ready to name a favorite.

“I don’t want to get into a competitive warfare in Miami as to who makes the best coffee,” he said. “But it’s certainly an off-season project I look forward to delving into.”

No notes

Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck hasn’t been afraid to show his ability to run the ball when needed during Miami’s CFP run.

His biggest scramble so far? A three-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left that proved the difference in the Hurricanes’ 31-27 win over Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl.

When asked Saturday if he had any tips to share with his quarterback when it comes to running the ball, Fletcher emphatically said Beck has that part of his game nailed down.

“I just saw a playmaker making a play. That was a hell of a drive that we ran down there and did. What a better way to finish it [than] with our guy?” said Fletcher, who has totaled 395 yards in Miami’s three playoff wins. “No tips for him. No tips for him. He walked in there just right, just right.”

Said Beck, “I’ve always said I’m going to do whatever it takes to win the football game. I think what’s important ultimately is winning the game. Nothing else really matters. For me, if that’s handing the ball of, if that’s having to go run after a first down, if that’s having to pick it up with my legs, throw this route or this route or this route and do this, whatever I have to do for the team, I’m willing to do.”