The Aggies are in the midst of mentally moving past their stunning loss against the Appalachian State Mountaineers last Saturday, and are preparing for the upcoming matchup versus the 13th-ranked Miami Hurricanes who are riding a two-game win streak to enter the season, while currently averaging 50.0 points per game.
As we will continue doing every week until the end of the season, Aggies Wire is here to provide copious amounts of background on every upcoming opponent, with this week’s focus centered around Texas A&M’s week 3 opponent, the Miami Hurricanes of the ACC Coastal division. In week 2, the Hurricanes defeated Southern Mississippi 30-7, but surprisingly only led 10-7 while entering halftime. Here is an overview of the team heading into Saturday’s primetime matchup:
- Head Coach: Mario Cristobal
- Conference: ACC, Coastal Division
- All-Time Record: 638-371-19 (.630)
- Championship Pedigree: 5 Claimed National Titles: (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2000)
- 2022 Record: 2-0
- Starting Quarterback: Tyler Van Dyke is a redshirt sophomore hailing from Suffield, Connecticut, committing to the Hurricanes in the 2022 recruiting class as a 4-Star recruit and the No.1 ranked player in Connecticut. After redshirting during the 2020 season, Van Dyke started 9 of 10 games during the 2021 campaign, he threw for an impressive 2,931 yards, 25 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions, while accumulating a 6-3 record along the way. So far this season, he has thrown 454 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception with a 55.2 QBR through 2 games.
- Key Offensive Players: Running back Henry Parrish Jr. (37 CAR, 217 YDS, 4 TD), Running back Thaddius Franklin Jr. (21 CAR, 127 YDS, 3 TD), Wide receiver Xavier Restrepo (11 REC, 172 YDS, 1 TD)
- Key Defensive Players: Safety James Williams (8 TKL, 1 INT), Linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. (10 TKL, 6 SOLO), Defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor (4 TKL, 1 SACK).
- Notable Stats: As skilled and potentially lethal as the Hurricane’s offensive is on paper, the unit has gotten off to slow starts in their first two games, which to the naked eye may sound ridiculous when looking at the final scores. In their week 1 game against Bethune Cookman, the team actually trailed the Wildcats 3-0 until they finally scored a touchdown at the 7-minute mark of the 1st quarter. In their week 2 contest against Southern Miss, Miami again trailed the Golden Eagles 7-3 until their go-ahead touchdown with 20 seconds left in the 2nd quarter.
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