This might be an odd thing to say, but Miami football looked talented this afternoon. The ‘Canes were fast defensively and had speed and talent at wide receiver. It should go without saying because head coach Mario Cristobal has one of the great reputations as a recruiter in college football.
Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke decided to stay instead of transferring. Cristobal let him have input on the offensive coordinator hire, and that decision paid off. The offense was explosive, especially in the passing game. Van Dyke looked good this afternoon, and his receivers looked as good as they’ve looked at Miami in a long time.
The way Miami played this afternoon had Hard Rock Stadium buzzing. It wasn’t the old Orange Bowl, and the Hurricanes still need an on-campus stadium, but it got loud in Miami Gardens.
The Aggies offense looked good this afternoon. The passing game looked good, and Connor Wegman is that dude. A&M has some good receivers as well, especially Evan Stuart.
Neither team ran the football particularly well, but the Aggies and Hurricanes have receivers we’ll watch on Sunday.
Here are some offensive and defensive takeaways and what’s next for both teams.
3. The Miami football offense looked good
Tyler Van Dyke showed promise two years ago with offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. Van Dyke loses Lashlee to SMU, and Miami hires Josh Gattis from Michigan. That decision was a disaster. Van Dyke and the offense regressed, and Cristobal fired Gattis. There were many suitors for Van Dyke’s services in the offseason, but he decided to stay.
Cristobal allowed Van Dyke to have input on who would be the new offensive coordinator. Cristobal hired Shannon Dawson from Houston, which paid dividends early in the 2023 season. Van Dyke threw for 374 yards and five touchdowns this afternoon. He threw for 12.5 yards per attempt.
The running game did struggle, but Van Dyke was so good they didn’t need the run. Henry Parrish, Jr. averaged 5.1 yards per carry but had nine rushes.
Texas A&M’s offense looked good, too
Connor Wegman was a gamer this afternoon for the Aggies. He threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. The Fisher/Petrino partnership seems to be working well so far. Texas A&M has some legitimate talent at receiver. Evan Stewart, Noah Thomas, and Anais Smith are quite the trio at receiver.
The Aggies struggled on the ground like their opponent. A&M ran for 97 yards on 29 carries.
2. Miami football’s defense buckled down in the second half
The Hurricanes buckled down in the second half, allowing 16 points. Miami forced three turnovers and two drives of fewer than five plays, which allowed Miami’s offense to pull away. Miami did a tremendous job of flying to the football and getting Texas A&M players on the ground, not allowing them to break tackles.
Defensive coordinator Lance Guidry did an excellent job of disguising coverages pre-snap, not allowing Connor Wegman to know what they were doing. Gudiry mixed pressures and forced Wegman to scramble for extra time to throw the football. Miami’s defensive line moved A&M’s offensive line at the point of attack.
As a result, Texas A&M struggled to run the football and push the ball down the field.
The A&M defense was solid on a down-to-down basis. The Hurricanes had just 17 first downs and were 3-9 on third downs. However, the Aggies were susceptible to the big play. Miami completed passes of 64, 52, 48, and 32 yards. Miami wide receivers averaged 17.8 yards per reception, and Van Dyke averaged 12.5 yards per pass attempt.
A&M did an excellent job against the run, allowing only 77 yards on the ground. Miami averaged 2.4 yards per rush against the Aggies defense. It was the big plays that were the Aggies’ demise.
1. What’s next for Miami football?
Mario Cristobal has his signature win in Miami. Commentators mentioned that Cristobal said you need seasons like 2022 to be great. Everything came together this afternoon at Hard Rock for the Hurricanes. The offense looked explosive, and the defense looked fast to the football. The young offensive line was solid, and the defensive line was a wall.
Miami has Bethune-Cookman and Temple before beginning conference play. If the Hurricanes continue this big play ability, they will be dangerous in conference play this fall.
What’s next for Texas A&M?
Today’s loss does not mean the season’s over in College Station. On the bright side, Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino must be happy with how Connor Wegman battled all game. He did throw the first two interceptions of his collegiate career but showed good command of the offense. Texas A&M has to run the football better.
They also need to take advantage of the receivers they have and push the football deep more often. Their lack of explosive plays might have been due to Miami’s aggressive pass rush. The pass rush would have been negated if the running game would have been more effective.