Position Matchups for Texas A&M Football vs Miami

Texas A&M Football vs. Miami: Hurricane Run Game vs. Aggie Run Defense

This is the key matchup for this game when the Aggies are on defense. If they are able to control the line of scrimmage and keep the Hurricane run game in check without having to keep an extra man in the box, the Hurricanes will struggle to move the ball. Tyler Van Dyke has reportedly been dealing with a thumb injury and didn’t throw deep much against Miami (OH)—of course, he didn’t have to, and it’s eminently possible that the Canes were just saving many looks for the game this week.

Can the Aggies pull this off against the retooled Miami offensive line, though? The Canes brought in quite the haul of talent, with a couple of five-star freshmen tackles as well as a transfer from Alabama. This isn’t even to mention the fact that Cristobal—a former offensive lineman himself—has a reputation for his teams excelling along the line of scrimmage.

I still think, despite the talent up front, the Canes lack the physical maturity to deal with this Aggie line. McKinnley Jackson, Fadil Diggs, Shemars both Stewart and Turner, LT Overton; all of these have individual game-wrecking ability, and I think they will make it a long day for the Hurricane front. It’s contingent, then, on Taurean York and Edgerrin Cooper’s ability (as well as Bryce Anderson, from time to time) to effectively read their keys, fill their gaps, and make tackles.

Advantage Ranking: Aggies by 3

Texas A&M Football vs. Miami: Hurricane Pass Game vs. Aggie Pass Defense

There was a time when Hurricane QB Tyler Van Dyke was considered a lock for a day 1 pick in the NFL draft. After the hype of his redshirt freshman season, however, he has fallen out of favor with draft analysts, with Ian Cummings of the Pro Football Network saying he “needs to rebound in a big way to resurrect his stock” and characterizing him as “a Day 3 QB prospect at best.”

Despite his well-documented statistical regression in 2022, the fact remains that Van Dyke is very physically talented (which, as Jimbo mentioned at his presser, is all you can really judge a guy on if you don’t know how he’s being coached). The Hurricanes also have some athletes at receiver, even if they’ve not really been able to quite unlock their potential yet—a feeling with which Aggie fans are all too familiar. Xavier Restrepo, Van Dyke’s top target from the last two years, didn’t play against the Aggies in 2022 after suffering an injury prior to the game.

Still, as I mentioned before, Durkin did a great job limiting the Miami passing game in this matchup last year. Van Dyke really struggled to get his bearings against all the looks that the Aggie DC threw at him, and I trust the head defensive man for this Texas A&M football team to utilize the stellar group of DBs the Aggies boast in a similar way this year. Again I will provide the caveat brought on by last year’s defensive issues: this is all presuming the Ags can actually make tackles in this game.

Advantage Ranking: Aggies by 3

Texas A&M Football vs. Miami: Hurricane OL vs. Aggie Pass Rush

This is likely the toughest matchup to predict out of all of these groups. Though the Ags have a dominant and talented defensive line group, it’s been tough for them to find that one dominant pass-rushing force last year. Aggie fans and coaches hope that guys like Enai White or Malick Sylla can eventually develop into that guy—a Tyree Johnson type, say—but both are still yet young. If one were to break out in this game, however, it would be quite the statement.

Even so, a pass-rush-by-committee by this defensive line group is probably better than a pass-rush-by-committee by any other defensive line group. Watching the tape from Miami’s last game, I do think there are weaknesses that Fadil Diggs, Shemar Stewart, and others can exploit up front against the Hurricanes. The question will be whether OC Shannon Dawson follows what New Mexico did by queuing up a litany of quick passes to negate that impact.

Advantage Ranking: Aggies by 2