Vaughn, Cristobal Exchange Jabs Leading Up To ACC Clash
Conway, SC. - For the first time as ACC members, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and the Miami Hurricanes are set to collide in a high-stakes showdown that could go a long way in deciding who punches a ticket to the ACC Championship Game later this year.
It won’t be the first meeting between Kade Vaughn’s Chanticleers and Mario Cristobal’s Hurricanes. The last time the two squared off, back in 2028, Coastal marched into Hard Rock Stadium and stunned Miami as part of their undefeated run to a national championship.
That victory is still memorialized in Conway — literally. After the win, a Coastal donor sourced a replica of Miami’s once-famous “Turnover Chain,” retired by Cristobal in 2022. The replica now hangs on the “Trophy Wall” in Vaughn’s office from that 2028 title season.
When asked this week about the meaning of facing Miami again — now as ACC rivals — Vaughn didn’t waste time playing diplomat.
“I don’t see what the ‘significance’ is that everyone keeps talking about,” Vaughn said, leaning back at the podium with his trademark smirk. “They’re a team that hasn’t won their conference in six years. The last time we played in that stadium? We dog-walked ’em. I still got their chain hanging in my office, so maybe they should be the ones answering what it means to play a team that’s actually won a national championship lately.”
The comments, predictably, made their way down to Coral Gables. And Cristobal didn’t mince words in response.
“Maybe Coach Vaughn should spend more time fixing his offense and less time worrying about decor,” Cristobal said with a cool grin after Miami’s Wednesday practice. “He can talk all he wants about a game from four years ago — that title was Bryce Underwood’s team. I haven’t seen much since then that says he’s earned the right to call himself the big man on campus.”
Cristobal paused, then delivered the dagger. “To me? Sounds like a guy who couldn’t make it on the field and now wants to bark like he did.”
Vaughn, of course, wasn’t one to let that slide.
“He wants to talk about barking? Fine,” Vaughn fired back after Friday’s walkthrough. “He wants to up the score? I’ll bring the chain with me this weekend. We’ll see who’s the big man then — when I punk him in his own stadium, again."
Vaughn smirked as he added, “Maybe all those hits to the head when he was the ‘big man on the field’ made him forget how we handled ’em last time. We’ll be happy to jog his foggy memory — and strut out of the stadium wearing their chain once again.”
The trash talk has lit a fire under what was already one of the most anticipated games of the year.
Beyond the verbal fireworks, this matchup carries real playoff weight. Miami, already with one conference loss (31–21 to Louisville), can’t afford another if it hopes to stay in the ACC title picture. Coastal, meanwhile, sits at 4–0, but not without questions.
Sophomore quarterback Fredrick Meredith has thrown nine interceptions through four games, and his uneven play has kept the Chanticleers’ offense from finding its rhythm.
“Just pressing too much,” Meredith admitted this week. “Got to get back to seeing what the defense does and punishing them for it. Simple as that.”
Now, Vaughn’s public war of words with Cristobal has turned up the heat. The Chanticleers’ young quarterback — and the entire Coastal offense — will be under the microscope when they step Between the Palms on Saturday night.
Because if the chain comes off the wall again, Vaughn plans on making sure it doesn’t leave Miami quietly.
