The Miami Hurricanes just knocked off the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals by a ten-point margin, advancing to the semifinals in a stunning upset. Not only is this huge for everyone still in the field, but it's something that is highly meaningful for the way the season ended for Texas A&M— even if no one else will acknowledge it.
The Hurricanes dominated the game against the Buckeyes for long stretches, despite being eventually outgained. Ohio State mounted a comeback attempt early in the second half, but the Hurricanes controlled things in a big way against a team that many assumed was the national title favorite.
That recolors the Aggies' game against the Hurricanes in a big way, as it happens. The postgame win expectancy for Miami against Ohio State was 88%, meaning this was not a close game at all. Conversely, Texas A&M was throwing into the end zone in the final seconds to tie or take the lead to end the game— and a slightly more timely throw to Rueben Owens or Theo Ohrstrom means that it would have been the Aggies in Dallas last night.
The world just saw why their Texas A&M criticisms have been horribly misguided
Take away the logos on the helmets and there's no contest: the Aggies would be seen as the better team than Ohio State right now. That's not how things will happen, of course: despite the fact that Ohio State and Texas A&M both have two losses, the end-of-year AP Poll will no doubt keep the Buckeyes higher.
Texas A&M was closer with Miami throughout the game. They outgained the Hurricanes by more. Their defense handled the Hurricanes much better outside of the final drive— and even then, Miami gashed the Buckeyes to close the game just like they did the Aggies.
It's simply the fact that Ohio State is Ohio State that some major mea culpas are not being issued towards Texas A&M right now. All this talk of Texas A&M being frauds after losing their final two games of the season is not being levied in the slightest towards Ohio State, despite the Buckeyes' schedule being clearly far worse than Texas A&M's.
Since there's no justice in the college football world, Texas A&M's detractors will continue to crow this clearly-disproven narrative for years to come. That doesn't change the fact that it is clear to everyone now that the Aggies were far from frauds this year, accomplishing something massive this season. The goalposts will keep moving until Texas A&M themselves are standing atop the mountain— something that, under Mike Elko, could be sooner than anyone thinks.