Miami's Offense Falters, Hurricanes Lose to Texas A&M Aggies 17-9
Saturday's primetime match-up featured two teams looking to prove something.
The Texas A&M Aggies were in need of a bounce-back performance after an ugly loss against Appalachian State in Week 2 in which they produced less than 200 yards of offense.
Miami, led by head coach Mario Cristobal attempted to grab its first win over a Southeastern Conference (SEC) team since 2013, and first road SEC win since 2008, when the Hurricanes previously defeated Texas A&M at Kyle Field, 41-23.
The Aggies would come out on top this time around.
Texas A&M struck first, going on an eight-play, 55-yard drive that ended with a 26-yard field goal by sophomore Randy Bond as the Aggies snagged a 3-0 lead. Miami answered on its very next drive, establishing the run with sophomores Henry Parrish Jr. and Jaylan Knighton to charge the Hurricanes into scoring position. Kicker Andres Borregales finished the drive with a 28-yard field goal to tie the game up at 3-3.
The first half was full of crucial mistakes for the Hurricanes, the first of which came on a muffed punt-return by defensive back Tyrique Stevenson that set the Aggies up in Miami territory.
LSU transfer quarterback Max Johnson and the Texas A&M offense took advantage of this, as three plays later, the Aggies found paydirt, capping off a three-play, 28-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown by running back L.J. Johnson Jr.
The two teams held each other scoreless for the rest of the first half, but Miami had opportunities to put points on the board.
UM drove down the field on two occasions and was in field goal position, but both possessions ended fruitlessly. Borregales missed left on a 49-yard attempt and was blocked on a 36-yard attempt.
The Aggies, just as they did in the first half, scored first to open up the second half. This drive ended on a chunk play, as Johnson found running back Devon Achane for a 25-yard receiving touchdown.
The Hurricanes answered with two field goals to cut the Aggies' lead to eight, at 17-9, which ended up being the final score.
Miami was led by its rushing attack, with Parrish and Knighton both having impactful performances. The pair of South Florida natives combined for 172 yards on 30 carries.
In comparison to the running backs, Miami's passing offense, led by quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, was quiet. The redshirt sophomore signal-caller threw for 217 yards and rushed for another 14 yards. He completed 21 of his 41 passes.
Van Dyke's favorite target was tight end Will Mallory, who caught six passes for 56 yards.
While Johnson only completed 10 passes for 140 yards, he did not turn the ball over and made enough plays to win.
The Aggies leaned on Achane and their run game and found success. The junior running back had 88 yards on 18 carries. Veteran Ainias Smith led Texas A&M's wideout with four receptions and 74 yards.
Texas A&M will travel to Arlington, Texas for its next game against Arkansas next Saturday at 7 p.m., while Miami will travel back home to play Middle Tennessee State next Saturday at 3 p.m.
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Luke Chaney is a contributing writer for Sports Illustrated-FanNation's AllHurricanes.com, covering recruiting and Miami Athletics. You can also find Luke on WVUM 90.5 FM as a play-by-play broadcaster. He is also the Sports Editor for The Miami Hurricane. Follow Luke on Twitter @luke_chaney4.