Campus Clash

(23) Texas A&M Aggies at Miami Hurricanes

Texas A&M: They haven’t sold me. Each year, it’s the same thing with them. “Watch out for Jimbo Fisher and company”, they could be the real deal or my personal favorite, “this is the year where they dethrone the Alabama Crimson Tide and win the SEC West”. I really like Jimbo as a Head Coach and I still remember what he did in Tallahassee as the Head Coach of the Florida State Seminoles. After leaving that program, he decided to come to College Station and signed a ten-year, $75 million deal to coach the Texas A&M Aggies. Since 2018, he’s accumulated a record of 39-21. By far, his best season came in 2020 during the pandemic. He led them to a 9-1 record and they finished fifth in the rankings for the College Football Playoff which is just on the outside looking in. Jimbo does have a bowl victory under his belt, which came in the Orange Bowl against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Outside of that, what else have they done? Last season, they disappointed and finished with a 5-7 record to finish the 2022 season. To open up week one, the Aggies battled the Lobos of New Mexico and handled their business as they should’ve. Quarterback Conner Weigman completed 18 of his 23 pass attempts for 236 yards and five touchdowns. The defense also handled their business and TAMU ended up dominating this game by 42 points. This is great and all, but when will they do this against the upper echelon teams such as Georgia (which is a tall task)? One thing I will give them is they always play Alabama tough. That’s something I can’t take away from them. Jimbo was hired to take this team to the next level which is the playoffs and a title game appearance. On Saturday afternoon, they will travel to Florida to take on the Hurricanes of Miami.

Miami: Often times, I’m asked certain questions and there’s one that’s stuck with me for years. I was asked when I have a son and he plays his years of High School football, where would I want him to go to college? Of course, it’d be his choice and as a parent, I’d support my son with wherever he’d want to go. But I would push for him to The U and play for the Hurricanes because he could learn from legends such as Warren Sapp, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. Three men who own gold jackets and bronze busts in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For years, I’ve compared this football program to Duke Basketball and I say that because just as the Blue Devils program and how their former players are still actively involved with the program, you see the same with the Hurricanes as many former players are at each home game. When they were doing well in 2017, I felt the entire landscape that is College Football was sparked by their success and I always say that in any sport, it’s always good when the legendary teams are doing well. This is year two of the Mario Cristobal tenure. He was hired to replace Manny Diaz back in 2021 and in his first year, they went 5-7. This program has gone through its share of Head Coaches and hopefully, Mario is that one that can get them back to prominence. Back when Mario took the job, one thing that immediately came to mind was him making it a priority to fix up the issues on the Offensive Line. I noticed that they are headed in the right direction in their big win over Miami of Ohio in week one. On the other side of the football, they have a deep rotation on the defensive line at Defensive End and Tackle. They do battle with Texas A&M.

Texas A&M X-Factor: Amari Daniels– One thing I will say about Jimbo, he will find a way to get quality recruits and he landed another one in Amari here. He’s an in between the tackles runner that can burst into each level of the defense when he turns on the burners. He also has great ability to bounce to the outside to get yards. Amari has nice field vision and has the skillset to plant that foot down and cut on a dime.

Miami X-Factor: Branson Deen– I was just talking about the Defensive Line and this is one of the stars of that group. Branson is a transfer from Purdue and looking to make his impact with the Canes. He’s a force in pass rushing from the interior and can stop the run. All that’s important to him is getting to the ball. See the ball, track the ball-carrier down and bring the man down. Branson has great speed and pursuit.

Three Things I’m Watching

1. Balance and Protection: I have two questions when it comes to Miami. One, can they run the football more consistently? This will take pressure off the Quarterback, Tyler Van Dyke. Secondly, can the Canes protect better up front? As I said up top, the Offensive Line is improving and they will need to be on their a-game for an Aggies defensive front that can punish when given the opportunity.

2. Aggies O Line vs Miami front: This will be one of the battles to watch in this game as this Hurricanes defensive line is an athletic group that can beat you in many different ways. They were dominant in the win over Miami of Ohio and allowed only 215 yards of offense in that week one victory. If the Canes can play fast up front and everyone knows their assignments, it’ll be a tough day for the Aggies to move the football up the field.

3. Big Passing Plays: This is simple. The team with more consistent chunk yard passing plays will have the edge in this game. I’m not necessarily saying they need to throw bombs down the field either. Look at Colbie Young’s first touchdown in week one. A screen pass if everyone is properly blocking everyone can be taken to the house if the opportunity presents itself. Now, the question is who will be more consistent in this aspect of the football game?

Final Analysis: These two schools met last season and Texas A&M was able to ugly the game up and won by a score of 17-9. Now, they’ll do battle in Florida this time around. I want to see how this Texas A&M front will neutralize the activity on this defensive front of the Aggies. The Canes defense will be facing a Quarterback that’s yet to throw an interception in his young career so far. How will the Aggies secondary match up with Young? Colbie is a 6’4 receiver that can create many problems for a secondary. I think we see more scoring in this game compared to the matchup last year in College Station. Texas A&M boasts more talent on the offensive side. Despite a challenge from the Canes, I like Texas A&M to prevail here for the victory.

Prediction: Texas A&M 31, Miami 23