All eyes will be on Texas A&M football on Saturday afternoon as the No. 23 Aggies hit the road to take on a Miami team that’s also looking to prove it belongs in the contender conversation.
The Aggies are coming off a nice win over New Mexico in the opener and Miami beat Miami (OH) convincingly to also improve to 1-0. One of these teams will suffer their first blemish of the season on Saturday and be left with plenty of question marks.
Let’s get bold ahead of Saturday’s huge game.
3. Evan Stewart accounts for over 150 receiving yards
Quite possibly the best receiver in college football not named Marvin Harrison Jr., Evan Stewart is somehow overlooked.
The former blue-chip recruit kicked off his sophomore season with a bang against New Mexico, catching eight passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. He looked like a superstar in the first game of the season and having a quarterback as good as Conner Weigman getting him the ball definitely helps.
Stewart is going to have a nice encore performance against Miami on Saturday afternoon, catching 10 passes for 150 yards and another two touchdowns.
Will he be on the Heisman Trophy radar after this one? He absolutely should, but my guess is that he’ll continue to be underrated.
2. Conner Weigman out-duels Tyler Van Dyke
I’ve long been on the Conner Weigman bandwagon and that’s not going to change on Saturday, especially with him putting together a huge performance against the Hurricanes.
While Tyler Van Dyke has been talked about as a top NFL draft prospect for the past two years, he’s going to take a back seat to the sophomore quarterback for Texas A&M.
Weigman had a really nice first start as the Aggies’ quarterback against New Mexico, throwing for 236 yards and five touchdowns on 18-of-23 completions. He had as many incompletions as he had touchdown passes and I think that success will carry over into this one.
Fortunately for Weigman, the environment at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens usually isn’t that hostile, and Aggie fans will travel well.
Weigman will feed off the split crowd and pass for over 300 yards and four touchdowns in a legit breakout performance. He’ll out-duel his NFL draft prospect counterpart.
1. Texas A&M football wins by at least 10 points
Miami and Texas A&M actually have a lot in common. While the programs couldn’t be any different, they do share the same lofty preseason expectations every single year. Like Miami, Texas A&M is always expected to contend. Heck, the Aggies are ranked No. 23 one year after going 5-7 and missing a bowl game.
Unlike Miami, Texas A&M has a head coach who has won a national title and knows how to win big games like this.
Jimbo Fisher has won numerous big road games throughout his career and you know he’s going to have his team ready because his job literally depends on it. Another disappointing season in College Station and he could very well be out the door.
Coaching for his job, Fisher is going to have the perfect game plan to take down the Hurricanes in Miami Gardens to improve to 2-0.
This will be a statement win for the Aggies who are trying to prove that 2022 was a fluke.
Texas A&M wins by at least 10.