CFP debutants Miami, Texas A&M welcome playoff proving ground

Few teams came closer to the top of the sport without reaching the College Football Playoff than Texas A&M and Miami.

Few teams came closer to the top of the sport without reaching the College Football Playoff than Texas A&M and Miami.

After failing to make the playoff field in the first 11 years the bracket was in place, the Aggies and Hurricanes are first-time playoff competitors this season.

They'll face off Saturday afternoon in College Station for a right to take on No. 2 seed Ohio State in the CFP quarterfinals on New Year's Eve.

No. 7 seed Texas A&M (11-1) was trending towards a top-four seed and a first-round bye before the team stubbed a toe in the regular-season finale, losing 27-17 at rival Texas on Nov. 28.

Instead of an extra week off, the program's first playoff game will be in its home stadium in front of a capacity crowd of over 102,000. An Aggies win pushes them 150 miles up the road to the Cotton Bowl in Arlington to play the Buckeyes.

The second half of that Texas loss, in which the Longhorns amassed 285 yards of offense and 24 points, was a stunning turn for Texas A&M's defense. The Aggies are tied for the FBS lead in sacks (41), have the nation's best opposing third-down conversion percentage (22.7) and are 19th in total defense (309.8 yards per game).

"We've looked at the tape. We've seen the areas that we were deficient and made the proper adjustments," Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said of the Texas loss. "At the end of the day, we're just excited to get back out on the field and know there's a really big game in front of us to play on Saturday."

The 10th-seeded Hurricanes (10-2) appeared destined to narrowly miss the CFP for the second straight year when they were left out of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game due to a tiebreaker.

However, the CFP committee elected to flip Miami and Notre Dame, giving the Hurricanes the final spot thanks to their head-to-head win after they had trailed the Irish in all previous rankings.

Miami is led by its defense under first-year coordinator Corey Hetherman. The Hurricanes rank sixth in scoring defense (13.8 points), seventh in rushing defense (86.8 yards) and 11th in total defense (277.8 yards).

After a pair of losses in a three-week span, Miami finished the season on a four-game winning streak in which it outscored those opponents 151-41.

"They love to work. They love the grind. They find opportunities to get better on their own by pushing, they push coaches," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of his team.

He added: "Very hungry, driven team. It's a team with tremendous heart as it relates to football and off the field."

That defense could get even better this week, with Cristobal saying he feels "very strongly" that standout nickelback Keionte Scott will return after missing the last three games.

Those defenses have helped each team's quarterbacks in Texas A&M's Marcel Reed -- who announced on Dec. 12 he's returning for 2026 -- and Miami's Carson Beck. The two have similar statlines, each throwing 25 touchdowns along with 10 interceptions, tied with Oklahoma's John Mateer for the most of any CFP QB.

Reed has the benefit of his legs (466 rushing yards, six touchdowns) and a pair of very productive transfer receivers in KC Concepcion (866 yards, nine TDs) and Mario Craver (825 yards, four TDs).

Beck doesn't have much mobility, but he does have one of the best freshmen in the country in receiver Malachi Toney (970 yards, seven TDs).

This will be the third time in four years Texas A&M and Miami face off. They played a home-and-home in 2022-23, with each team winning at home. Miami leads the all-time series 3-2.

--Field Level Media