As Rueben Bain Jr.'s time with the Miami Hurricanes comes to a close, he understands this is the moment to leave it all on the football field.
The big day has arrived as the Miami Hurricanes will face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl quarterfinals in a few hours. There is no greater challenge for a program making its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance than facing the defending champions.
However, after defeating the Texas A&M Aggies in the first round, overcoming a notorious hostile environment and extremely windy conditions, the case could be made that they're built for this moment. Of course, the victory didn't come easy, especially with the lack of offensive execution, outside of Mark Fletcher Jr. running the ball extremely well. He rushed 17 times for 172 yards, including a 56-yard explosive play that perfectly set up freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney for the game-winning touchdown.
Although it was the defense who were heroic in one of the biggest stages in college football, led by edge rushers Akheem Mesidor and Rueben Bain Jr. They managed to disrupt Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed's ability to run and make him beat them with his passing abilities, which were no use in the end, after a game-sealing interception by freshman safety Bryce Fitzgerald.
The Hurricanes hope for a better offensive outing by quarterback Carson Beck, leaning on his experience in the College Football Playoffs during his tenure with the Georgia Bulldogs and winning two National Championships, but the defense still has a massive task at hand.
The Buckeyes have a great quarterback in sophomore Julian Sayin, who finished the regular season by completing 258 out of 327 passes, 78.9 percent, 3,065 yards, recording 30 touchdowns and five interceptions. He led them to a perfect 12-0 record before losing in the Big 10 championship game to the Indiana Hoosiers, with a final score of 13-10.
The Hurricanes' ability to attack him before finding his weapons, such as wide receiver sophomore Jeremiah Smith, will be critical to their success.
In the first round against the Aggies, Bain Jr. finished with five total tackles, four solos and one assist, four tackles for loss, and three second-half sacks. The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year believes there's no better preparation than facing his own teammates at practice.
"Iron sharpens iron," he said. "Knowing I can go against [Francis Mauigoa] every day, Markel Bell, Anez Cooper, Matthew McCoy, and James Brockermeyer, I feel like that's the best competition, best preparation I can ever get."
The Miami native understands the importance of "capitalizing" on this unique opportunity that isn't promised to anybody.
It's going to be an excellent matchup tonight at Arlington, Texas, 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.