Key Takeaways from Miami's 48-33 Victory over Texas A&M
Article photo of Miami receiver Jacolby George; credit to Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports.
"The get back," as some players called it on social media, was an impressive performance by the Miami Hurricanes. The Canes battled adversity early in the game, and unlike past years, they overcame it.
Miami didn't quite ace its first test of the year, but it passed. Here are a few main takeaways from Miami's revenge game against Texas A&M.
Tyler Van Dyke is back.
And it is hard to debate. Tyler Van Dyke absolutely torched the TAMU secondary with 374 yards and five touchdowns while completing 70% of his passes. Van Dyke's five passing touchdowns were a career-high for Miami's signal caller.
Remember Van Dyke's impressive 2021 season where he joined Joe Burrow as the only players in the College Football Playoff era to have six-straight games of 300 yards passing and three touchdowns? Not even in that year did Van Dyke throw five touchdowns within a single contest.
Van Dyke had passes go for 48, 64, and 52 yards, all to different wideouts. Van Dyke completed five passes to Jacolby George, three of which went for a touchdown, including George's 64-yard reception.
Van Dyke also hit on a beautiful long ball to Isaiah Horton for a 52-yard touchdown, who had a rough performance against Miami of Ohio. But, the difference maker was Xavier Restrepo. Restrepo had six catches for 126 yards, including 88 yards after the catch. Restrepo bailed Miami out of tough situations throughout the game.
Miami's front seven was OK.
Yes, the Aggies were held to 97 yards and 3.3 yards per carry—a good number. But the lack of sacks and tackles for loss was a tad underwhelming. Miami did a strong job of making plays at or just ahead of the line of scrimmage. Miami totaled five tackles for loss against the Aggies and only one came from a defensive lineman.
Miami also did a good job of generating pressure on Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman. According to Pro Football Focus, Miami created 30 pressures on Weigman but was unable to get home to the quarterback. Weigman's constant running to extend plays was reminiscent of Van Dyke's effort against the Aggies last year.
The health of Kamren Kinchens and Akheem Mesidor.
Miami played the entire second half without Akheem Mesidor and fellow defensive lineman Branson Deen. But, what was more noteworthy was the scary injury to Miami safety Kamren Kinchens.
Kinchens suffered an injury late in the fourth quarter that essentially took all sense of happiness away from the stadium. It was a huge win over Texas A&M, but the win was overshadowed by Kinchens' injury.
Kinchens was carted off the field and airlifted to a nearby hospital. Kinchens was seen later in the night facetiming friends and family, showing good spirits. For Kinchens, his health is the top priority, and the hope is that his injury was not a life-altering injury.
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