Miami Validates Their CFB Playoff Selection with First Round Win at Texas A&M
For roughly 55 minutes, the football game was complete and utter slop.
Fumbles. Overthrows. Underthrows. Punts. Missed field goals. Let's not sugarcoat it. Texas A&M and Miami filled up the football miscue BINGO card in record time, delivering a game that felt like a slog from the moment it began.
The defenses were spectacular, and those efforts will be celebrated accordingly shortly. That acknowledged, through the many blunders and botched trick plays and largely unsuccessful attempts at generating points, Miami endured.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The Hurricanes, outside of the College Football Playoff until the final rankings, the only rankings that mattered, validated their inclusion into the bracket with a victory. It doesn't matter how ugly it might have been or how exactly we'll remember this 10-3 victory. Winning is winning.
Miami found a way into the playoff, and it made the absolute most of the controversial decision. With a game against Ohio State on deck, everything is still on the table.
For as ugly as this game might have been, the dialogue since that blanketed the College Football Playoff's final bracket was even more pronounced. For weeks, the selection committee had Miami ranked outside the bracket—most notably Notre Dame.
Despite the Hurricanes' victory over the Irish to begin the year, the group tasked with finalizing the sport's postseason told us that Miami didn't belong along the way.
Then, everything changed.
To recap: BYU, the team sandwiched between Notre Dame and Miami in the rankings, lost to Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game. The collateral damage of that loss propelled Miami upward and Notre Dame downward and out of the bowl season altogether.
What an uproar there was, against Miami and Alabama and the Group of Five teams quietly sidestepping the carnage. For the Hurricanes, which seemed destined to miss the postseason yet again, the shocking decision—coupled with the selection committee's bizarre and unpredictable process—brought them new life.
On Saturday, the controversy gave way for actual football. And while it wasn't always easy on the eyes, Miami showcased just how far it has come in such a short period of time. And it did so on the road against an elite team with only one loss all season.
The defense was indeed the star of the show, limiting the Aggies to three points. Texas A&M ran just 89 yards on 35 carries, and quarterback Marcel Reed, who threw two interceptions, including one in the end zone in the final moments, was regularly under duress.
For all the negativity Mario Cristobal has received for his in-game coaching decisions, his ability to navigate the transfer portal and build a roster overflowing with talent hasn't been appreciated enough.
Defensively, Cristobal overhauled much of the depth chart. He then hired Corey Hetherman to run this side of the ball. While the Miami season has been a winding road, the dramatic improvement on this side of the ball—until the very last play—paved the way for Saturday.
There are two sides of ugly. For Miami, this was a beautifully ugly afternoon, the kind of afternoon that should provide hope moving forward.
On a day when star wide receiver Malachi Toney fumbled and finished with just 22 yards receiving, the Hurricanes found a way. On a day when quarterback Carson Beck threw for just 104 yards, Miami produced just enough.
There was nothing ugly about Mark Fletcher Jr.'s performance. Fletcher, the team's starting running back, finished with 172 yards rushing, finding the right holes just when they needed it.
Now, Miami will turn the page. The decision to allow the Hurricanes into the playoff is nothing more than ancient history. While that decision was certified on Saturday, none of that matters now.
On New Year's Eve, Miami will take on Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, a team it has plenty of postseason history against.
The Hurricanes will be an underdog yet again. The challenge against arguably the nation's most talented roster will be enormous, which should come as no surprise.
Miami's defense will be ready, as will the team's running game. This much we know. One can only assume that Beck and Toney will deliver far more than they did against Texas A&M, and they will have to do so for this team to compete.
A championship is suddenly within this team's reach. All Miami needed was a chance, and it was given just that.
On Saturday, the Hurricanes made the most of the opportunity. Sure, it was ugly. But with the selection committee firmly out of the picture, ugly will work just fine.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
