Aggies Falls Out Of AP Top 25 Following Loss To Miami

The Aggies are unranked heading into Week 3's matchup against Louisiana-Monroe

Texas A&M drew headlines when it first appeared at No. 23 in the preseason AP Poll. The Aggies needed an early-season victory to prove they belonged among college football's finest.

That didn't happen Saturday against Miami on the road at Hard Rock Stadium in a 48-33 loss. Instead of gaining momentum, the Aggies gave the Hurricanes their spot in the AP Poll. 

Miami returned the rankings for the first time since last season's 17-9 loss to the Aggies in Week 3 at Kyle Field, coming in at No. 22 in the AP Poll and No. 23 in the Coaches' Poll. The Aggies fell out of both entering Week 3's matchup against Louisiana-Monroe. 

The Hurricanes, who overcame a 10-point deficit in the second quarter, capitalized on miscues and errors to overtake A&M in the second half. Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke dropped dimes downfield to his receivers, tossing five touchdowns to match his season-high 374 passing yards. 

For as good as Van Dyke and the improved Hurricanes' offense looked under first-year coordinator Shannon Dawson, the Aggies (1-1) consistently looked overmatched in coverage. Of Van Dyke's 374 passing yards, 286 came after the catch thanks to poor open-field tackling. 

“We did not tackle well,” head coach Jimbo Fisher said postgame. “We had guys we could tackle and we tackled poor in space. That’s one thing we did last week and they had yards after the catch and we had some guys with arms around them, but we just didn’t make the plays and get them on the ground.”

Quarterback Conner Weigman threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns against two interceptions, and rushed for another score in the first quarter. Receivers Noah Thomas and Evan Stewart continued to be security blankets for the sophomore passer, each finishing with at least four receptions. 

“[Weigman was] a guy that put us on his back,” offensive lineman Layden Robinson said. “A guy that, no matter how far down we was, he never looked at the scoreboard. He’s that leader, that guy that you need in the huddle. Make no mistake, he’s the quarterback we need… We need to do a better job of protecting him up front.”

Georgia and Michigan remained in the top spots following wins over Ball State and UNLV, respectively. Florida State moved up one spot following a 66-13 victory over Southern Miss, while Texas jumped seven spots to No. 4 after beating then-No. 3 Alabama 34-24 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. 

USC, Ohio State, Penn State, Washington, Notre Dame and Alabama rounded out the top 10. Tennessee (No. 11), LSU (No. 14), and Ole Miss (No. 17) joined Georgia and Alabama as SEC representatives. 

Kickoff against the Warhawks is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.