Miami head coach praises Texas A&M's 'big and physical' roster
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Texas A&M (11-1, 7-1 SEC) is officially the No. 7 seed in the College Football Playoff, as the Aggies will host No. 10 Miami (FL) (10-2) on Saturday, December 20, for an early noon ET kickoff, which will serve as the program’s first appearance in the CFP since its inception.
Miami snuck into the playoff picture after Duke’s shocking win over Virginia in the ACC Championship Game, resulting in Tulane and James Madison earning the final 11 and 12 seeds, while the Hurricanes‘ early-season win over 10-2 Notre Dame was the final straw that kept the Fighting Irish out of the tournament after making it all the way to the National Title Game last season.
During the regular season, Miami fell to Louisville and SMU on the road. Still, after that, the Hurricanes looked much better down the stretch, blowing out Syracuse, NC State, Virginia Tech, and Pitt to finish the year with a fighting chance to reach the postseason.
On paper, Miami’s offense averages over 425 yards per game, while starting quarterback Carson Beck finished the regular season with 3,025 yards and 25 touchdowns, almost identical to Texas A&M star quarterback Marcel Reed. Defensively, Miami has been equally dominant, limiting opponents to 277.8 yards per game, led by junior edge Rueben Bain, and a pass rush that produced 34 sacks.
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal, well known for several memorable coaching decisions that either led to or nearly led to losses, took time during Sunday’s media appearance to praise head coach Mike Elko’s roster makeup, which Cristobal is familiar with after facing Duke several times during Elko’s tenure with the Blue Devils.
“Big, strong, fast, explosive. You have elite playmakers in all phases, from their quarterback, their wide receivers, their defensive fronts – most sacks in the country. As explosive as you can get with a Heisman quarterback.
Coach-speak is never surprising during the early portions of the pre-game process. While Cristobal’s praise is accurate, given that the Aggies ended the regular season at 11-1 and 7-1 in the SEC, the Aggies still have several flaws, like most teams, including a run defense that led to last Friday’s 27-17 loss at Texas.
“I think their trenches really stick out right away. Again, big and physical. I know their strength coaches really, really well. I know how they train. Those guys are built to go deep into November, December, January and play at a high level.
“Top to bottom, a team that doesn’t have weaknesses and one that has been playing at a high level all year.”
Texas A&M S&C coach Tommy Moffitt is one of the unsung heroes this season, not just contributing to the roster’s conditioning and strength training, but also instilling toughness that led to just one loss at the end of the year.
Texas A&M will host Miami on Saturday, December 20, at 11:00 a.m., with the game airing on ABC.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Miami HC Mario Cristobal praises Texas A&M’s ‘big and physical’ roster
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos