No. 23 Texas A&M Aggies (1-1) dropped the rematch game in Florida 48-33 to the Miami Hurricanes (2-0). Miami weathered the early storm to beat the Aggies convincingly for a marque early season win for Cristobal’s program.
You couldn’t ask for a better start to a football game on the road than the Aggies. Special teams set the tone with a big stop on the opening kickoff, Sam Mathews, the 12th man, trapping the Hurricanes deep to start the game. The defense followed that up with a quick three-and-out, leading to a blocked punt by transfer Jahdae Walker.
Bobby Petrino’s offense’s first drive would start Miami’s 15-yard line. Amari Daniels and Conner Weigman took turns chipping away until they reached the endzone on a one-yard touchdown run for an early 7-0 lead.
Not wanting to let this game get out of hand early, Miami answered back to cut the lead to 10-7 late in the first quarter. As both teams settled in, the Hurricanes came back in to lead 21-17 at halftime.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, Miami would pressure Texas A&M across the board in the second half, keeping them off-balanced for the rest of the night. After the Maroon & White pulled within one in the third quarter, Miami took the kickoff back 98 yards after the field goal to the house, killing what little momentum the Aggies built off the previous dive. The Hurricanes would outscore the Aggies 27 to 16 over the final 30 minutes, leaving the Texas A&M fans scratching their head at the outcome.
The offense did not look bad, but the offensive line is still a work in progress. Conner Wiegman, Noah Thomas, and Even Stewart stood out as studs, but it still was not enough to overcome the deficit. The defense was nonexistent after the first two drives, and while a few players did flash, like Taurean York and Walter Nolan, this was one of the worst outings under DJ Durkin’s watch.
It’s too early to call this a turning point; some even had this as one of the Aggie losses on the books. Monday is on to the next opponent, but the Texas A&M coaching staff will have much to work on moving forward.
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