The next four games could be the most important games of Mario Cristobal’s tenure at Miami.

If the No. 18 Hurricanes win their final four regular-season games, they will have a fighting chance for a spot in the College Football Playoff . If they lose any of them, their season is over and they will spend December preparing for a bowl game that many would consider meaningless.

Given the stakes for the final stretch, it is only fitting that Miami’s quest to reach the playoffs continues Saturday with a matchup against struggling Syracuse, which knocked the Hurricanes out of last year’s playoffs, at 3:30 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium (ESPN).

“The losses motivate us, just in general,” linebacker Mo Toure said. “Taking a loss isn’t easy for any of us. We’re all competitors. We all work ha

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