#24 Texas A&M Aggies held on to defeat #13 Miami Hurricanes in a game where the Canes should have won convincingly. In front 0f 107,000 fans the Aggies pull out a 17-9 low scoring victory over the Canes.
Miami came into the game with what most considered to be a potential first round quarterback in Tyler Van Dykes. However, TVD looked pedestrian all game. TVD went 21-41 for 217 yards and zero touchdowns.
Although the receivers dropped some passes, many of the balls thrown weren’t catchable. Honestly, all of his throws were low and outside to taller receivers. TVD’s most trusted target Xavier Restrepo was out with a foot injury. Restrepo is about 5’9 or under, this could be the reason why most of his throws were so low.
With that being said, lets dive into the takeaways from the Texas A&M game.
Miami defense stepped up
My biggest fear coming into this game was the Miami Hurricanes’ defense letting Texas A&M throw the ball all over the field on them. I did not expect for Miami’s pass rush to get home or the DBs to make credible stops.
Fortunately, I was wrong by a long shot. 5th-year senior cornerback DJ Ivey stepped up big in multiple moments in the game. Ivey had two big 3rd-down stops that showed off his length as a corner playing the slant.
The D-line got to the quarterback often to make it difficult for the Aggies offense. Miami’s Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele called a great game. For the first time in a long time, the defense for Miami gave Miami plenty of opportunities to win this game.
Ultimately, the Canes defense held the Aggies to 264 yards of total offense.
Last but not least, Leonard Taylor, James Williams, and Kam Kitchens were the bright spots on a defense that had a lot of bright moments. If it wasn’t for special teams and the offense putting the defense into bad spots, the defense would not have allowed a point.
The offensive line is solid
My next fear was Miami’s offensive line not being able to give Tyler Van Dyke time to throw the ball. Fortunately, the O-line stepped up big in this game. TVD could have written a book with the time he had in the pocket.
The scoreboard will say the opposite, but the stat sheet will show that the Miami O-line did not allow one sack in the game. We knew the Aggies had a formidable defensive line, but the way the Cane line stepped up you wouldn’t have known.
Besides some small penalties towards the end of the game, the Canes line were better than anyone could have imagined just 3 weeks into the season.
TVD and the Receivers need work
Like I stated before, this loss is on TVD and the receivers. As much as we heard about the receivers and TVD putting in extra time this week to get onto one page we could not tell if that was true.
There were too many drops and too many passes in thrown to the open receiver but low and outside. 20 passes went incomplete, and half were from TVD ball placement and the other half was from receivers not catching the ball.
It feels like it has been forever since Miami has had a legit receiver who will go up and go get the ball. Outside of wide receivers Ahmmon Richardson and Jeff Thomas, the Canes haven’t had a threat.
Ultimately, the Canes offense will go as far as the receivers and TVD let it. For the first time in over 20 years, the Miami offensive line is not the issue.
Look on the bright side
If this was 2021, Miami would have been blown out in this game by at least 20+ points easily. The Canes weren’t out matched or beat physically on any level. Mental mistakes were the things that did the Miami Hurricanes in against the Aggies.
Fortunately, Miami will have plenty of opportunities to show improvement before their showdown with FSU in Miami. By then, we should know which receivers the Canes can count on in difficult situations.