CORAL GABLES — Spit has been flying on football fields over the last week.

In the first “Thursday Night Football” game of the NFL season, Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting at Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. Two days later, Florida defensive lineman Brendan Bett cost his team 15 yards for spitting at a USF player; the Bulls marched down the field and scored the game-winning field goal to seal the upset on that drive.

Miami coach Mario Cristobal said he hopes his team learned from observing those incidents and won’t have any spit takes of their own when they face newly ranked USF at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday.

“There’s a lot to be learned from that example,” Cristobal said. “You just don’t ever want to feel the consequences of it. You’d like to be able to learn that by the misfortune of someone else.”

Cristobal said he was not judging the players involved for what happened because his team was not involved in those incidents. Under Cristobal, the Hurricanes have had their own ill-timed, unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

“Who knows the interaction, the verbal exchange, in that moment and what led to that?” Cristobal said. “I’m sure it was enough to drive someone to the roof. … I don’t judge it because I don’t coach on any of the teams that were involved in that. But in terms of us, we’ve had our moments in the past that make you want to — I’ll stop there.”

So far this year, the Hurricanes have refrained from any costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. They have not been called for one in their first two games of the season.

“I think we’ve seen probably a half a dozen examples where our guys have restrained themselves for the betterment of the team,” Cristobal said. “You saw (in) Game 1 how a receiver blocking his tail off gets his facemask yanked and pushed. One guy gets punched and he backed off. Another guy got there to grab before he (could retaliate). Your best form of retaliation is to go have success on the next play, and as long as we keep doing that, putting selfish penalties aside because look now every single game we play is a playoff game — for everybody in college football.”

Cristobal said NFL scouts are looking for players who can stay composed in tough situations, and opposing players are always looking for ways to exploit players’ tempers.

“If you are a hothead, if you are easily mentally manipulated,” Cristobal said, “people are going to find you.”

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/09/08/hurricanes-eagles-gators-spitting/