No. 10 seed Miami (10-2) at No. 7 seed Texas A&M (11-1), Saturday, noon EST (ABC)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Texas A&M by 3 1/2.
Series record: Miami leads 3-2.
What’s at stake?
Both teams are in the College Football Playoff for the first time where the Hurricanes are contending for their sixth national championship and first since 2001. The Aggies have a much longer drought after their last national title came in 1939. The Hurricanes got the last at-large playoff spot over Notre Dame thanks to their 27-24 win over the Fighting Irish in the season opener. Texas A&M aims to bounce back and make a deep playoff run after a 27-17 loss to archrival Texas in the regular-season finale spoiled its perfect season. These teams had one common opponent this season with Miami and Texas A&M handing Notre Dame its only two losses in close games in the first two weeks of the season. The winner gets a trip to the Cotton Bowl to play No. 2 seed Ohio State on Dec. 31.
Key matchup
Texas A&M’s pass rush vs. Miami’s offensive line. The Aggies have 41 sacks this season to tie Oklahoma for most in the nation. Texas A&M is led by defensive end Cashius Howell, a first team AP All-America selection and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year who led the SEC and ranks fourth in the nation with 11 1/2 sacks. The Hurricanes are among the best in the nation at protecting the quarterback and the 11 sacks they allowed this season are tied for eighth fewest in the country.
Players to watch
Miami: DE Rueben Bain Jr. earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors after piling up 37 tackles, including 7 1/2 tackles for loss and 4 1/2 sacks this season. He also forced a fumble, had an interception and two pass breakups to lead Miami’s defense. He had at least one tackle in every game and had a season-high 1 1/2 sacks in the regular-season finale at Pittsburgh.
Texas A&M: WR/PR K.C. Concepcion won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile college football player and was also an AP first-team All American. He led the team with 886 yards receiving and his nine TD receptions ranked first in the SEC. He also led the league with 460 punt return yards with two touchdowns. The junior also had a TD run to become the first Aggie in the modern era of football to have a TD reception, scoring run and punt return score in a single season.
Facts & figures
Miami won the last meeting between these teams 48-33 in 2023 at Hard Rock Stadium. … The Hurricanes have won 10 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002-03. … Miami hasn’t allowed more than 17 points in its last four games. … QB Carson Beck is 34-5 in his career as a starter at Georgia and with the Hurricanes. … WR Malachi Toney needs 30 yards to post the eighth 1,000-yard receiving season in school history. … Mark Fletcher Jr. leads Miami with 685 yards rushing. … Jakobe Thomas is first on the team with four interceptions. … The Aggies are 7-0 at home this season. … It’s the first time since 2012 that Texas A&M has won at least 10 games. … The Aggies have had at least 100,000 fans at Kyle Field for 10 straight games dating back to last season. … QB Marcel Reed has thrown for 963 yards and six touchdowns and added 245 yards rushing with two scores in four games this season against AP Top 25 opponents. He needs 68 yards passing and 34 yards rushing to join Johnny Manziel (twice) and Jerrod Johnson as the only players in school history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 500 yards in a season. … Texas A&M’s receivers rank 11th in the nation by averaging 14.1 yards per catch, led by Ashton Bethel-Roman’s 23 yards per catch. … The Aggies have limited opponents to five or fewer third down conversions in nine straight games. … ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast from College Station, Texas, before the game, the ninth time the show will be done on the Texas A&M campus.
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The Associated Press
