The Miami Hurricanes are a couple of weeks away from facing the Texas A&M Aggies in the College Football Playoffs, but there was no wasted time in throwing shade.
After weeks of chaos, controversy, and debates, the stage is set for the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoffs. The championship games, specifically the Big 12, with the loss of the BYU Cougars against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, with a final score of 34-7, allowed them to hurdle into the last "at-large" bid and crack the 12-team bracket.
Mario Cristobal and the team will travel to College Station, Texas, and face the Texas A&M Aggies, who finished the regular season with an 11-1 record, with three victories over ranked opponents, and tied for the most sacks in the nation, 41, along with the Oklahoma Sooners.
It will be a great test for the Hurricanes, who didn't have a great outing the last time they were scheduled to play in Texas. When facing the SMU Mustangs during the course of the college football season, they lost the game, with a final score of 26-20 in overtime. Despite having a chance to win, it collapsed after a Carson Beck interception near the endzone.
However, since then, the team finished strong, with a four-game winning streak and dominated their opponents. There's momentum on their side, especially after facing adversity, with postseason hopes in jeopardy.
The offense was clicking, averaging 450 total yards and recording 19 touchdowns throughout that span. The defense was also resilient, only allowing an average of 263 yards and five touchdowns. The Hurricanes were tremendous on both sides of the field, which allowed them to even have a chance of making a case to the Selection Committee.
Junior defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. has been one of the key contributors for the Hurricanes. After playing all 12 regular-season games, he finished with 37 combined tackles, 19 solos and 12 assists, along with 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and one interception, which came against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was also named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, the first-ever in program history.
Bain Jr. is projected to be a high first-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft. However, the College Football Playoff is the most important task at hand.
Recently, Trey Zuhn III, an Aggies' offensive lineman, had some interesting comments about the Hurricanes' defensive superstar when asked about the matchup:
"I haven't had the time to watch any film yet [on him] since it just got announced," he said. "I don't think he'll be a threat that we need to worry about too much."
It will be interesting to see how much Zuhn III may rethink about his comments once film sessions take place. Even if Bain Jr. is still not viewed as a "threat," there's also Akheem Mesidor on the other side, ready to attack any quarterback on the other side. This is going to be an exciting matchup for both sides, with great quality styles of football.
The Hurricanes will face the Aggies on Dec. 20th, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on ABC.
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