Miami coach downplays portal subterfuge: 'Happens all the time' - ESPN

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Miami is on the brink of a berth in the College Football Playoff National Championship, but the Hurricanes also have more than a half-dozen players in the transfer portal. That's a recipe for gamesmanship, coach Mario Cristobal said.

Asked Wednesday if he thought opponents would attempt to contact former players for inside information during the playoff and portal overlap, Cristobal said, «It happens all the time.» But he's not pointing the finger at any players who have left the program.

«If you don't think it happens, we're kidding ourselves,» Cristobal said. «But I blame the adults. We created this system, right? We're supposed to be setting an example. We're supposed to be setting the standard. When you create a system that has as many holes as it does, shame on you if you're surprised by some of the results that come with it.»

Miami faces Ole Miss on Thursday in the CFP Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl with a trip to the national championship game on the line. While Cristobal isn't ignoring the reality of a football calendar that creates ample opportunity for gamesmanship, Rebels coach Pete Golding hasn't been able to avoid the chaos either.

Since Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss to take the LSU job a month ago, Golding has been forced to balance an offensive staff working double duty between two schools while trying to retain his own roster — including reupping quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and star tailback Kewan Lacy — recruit from the portal and prepare for playoff games. That all of it is bound to leave some margin for potential tampering, trading of inside information or just general distractions comes with the territory, he said.

«It's competition,» Golding said. «People trying to win. It's if