Texas A&M football vs. Miami: Aggies pull off upset win over Hurricanes

Texas A&M football has found itself back in the win column after a nail-biter in College Station. The Aggie defense managed to hold a Tyler Van Dyke-led Miami offense to just nine points on the night, and the Aggie offense did enough to scrape out a win at home.

Texas A&M vs. Miami game recap

Texas A&M football’s defense thrives in the first half

If there is one way to describe this first half, I would say “about as expected”. Max Johnson struggled out of the gate as this was his first start of the season, but Texas A&M got on the board first with a field goal.

The next possession, after some big runs by Miami, the Hurricanes answered with a field goal of their own. The next possession, however, the Aggies were forced to punt, but recovered a fumble on the play, which led to a rushing touchdown by L.J Johnson.

Towards the end of the first quarter, Demani Richardson was ejected for targeting on a questionable call by the officiating. For the rest of the half, nether team ended up scoring—the closest either team got to putting points on the board was when Miami attempted a 36-yard field goal which was blocked by Albert Regis.

The game goes down to the wire

To begin the second half, the Texas A&M defense stifled the Hurricanes’ offense yet again, forcing a punt. Immediately after gaining possession, Max Johnson and Devon Achane helped the Aggie offense storm down the field and complete a 25-yard touchdown pass to Achane, giving the Aggies a 17-3 lead with about 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

The Canes finally managed to get back on the board, in the form of another field goal after a 12-play drive. After the Aggie offense was unable to put points up the following possession, punter Nik Constantinou pinned the Canes back to their own one yard line. The Miami offense then slowly, but surely, made their way up to the Aggies’ 16-yard line before settling for a field goal, making it a 17-9 game with just over eight minutes left in the game.

After a three-and-out by the A&M offense, Miami was unable to do anything with their possession, punting the ball back to the Aggies with just over three minutes left in the game. Three run plays later, the Aggie offense was unable to convert a first down, giving the ball to the Canes at their own-43 with 1:25 remaining.

This is it, the final chance for Miami to tie up the game. With the clock ticking, Texas A&M manages to get Miami to fourth-down. A throw over the middle aaaaaaandddd…just through the receiver’s hands, and the Aggies take over possession and get in victory formation.

A quick reaction to the Aggies’ tough win over Miami

Offense

The offense had the game I expected them to have—heavy on the run game, while being able to do just enough. New QB1 Max Johnson had a decent game, finishing 10-for-20 on passes with 140 yards in the air, a touchdown, and 23 yards on the ground.

Achane looked good in this game, and man, did he need a good game. He finished with 88 rushing yards on 18 carries, while also hauling in four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, RB2 L.J Johnson also scored a goal-line touchdown as well.

The receivers didn’t get a whole lot of production with just 10 completions, but Ainias Smith did what he could with his chances. He led the team with 74 receiving yards on four catches. If there’s anything to take away from the offensive line play tonight, it would be that they certainly still have work to do.

Defense

On paper, the defense tells an interesting story. They allowed almost 400 yards of total offense, but didn’t let go a single touchdown. They showed a relentless motor in special teams, blocking a field goal, and in the pass game, keeping Tyler Van Dyke to just a 51% completion percentage.

The run defense wasn’t great, as they allowed almost five yards a carry on the night, but they did a good job of bending and not breaking. In reality, the defense really won this game for the Aggies, as some would predict, but the team overall played a solid game against a tough opponent.

Player of the game: RB Devon Achane – 18 rushes, 88 rushing yards, four receptions, 42 receiving yards, one receiving touchdown

What’s next for Texas A&M football

Week 4 vs. #10 Arkansas (AT&T Stadium)

Week 5 at Mississippi State

Week 6 at #2 Alabama

Week 8 at South Carolina