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Mario Cristobal had a problem to fix in the offseason.

The Hurricanes’ offense, led by No. 1 NFL draft pick Cam Ward , was the nation’s best last year. But the defense lagged well behind and likely cost Miami a shot at the College Football Playoff due to collapses against Georgia Tech and Syracuse.

So Cristobal went about fixing it. He fired former defensive coordinator Lance Guidry and hired Minnesota’s Corey Hetherman . He brought in position coaches Zac Etheridge, Will Harris and Damione Lewis to fill out the defensive staff. And he gave the new coaches new options, adding nine defensive players via the transfer portal and another 10 in UM’s high school recruiting class.

But there was no guarantee all of those changes would work. He

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