The vulnerabilities in A&M’s strong defense. What to know. And UM news
On the surface, Texas A&M looks like the best defense that Miami has faced this season.
A&M is tied with Oklahoma for the lead nationally in sacks (41), ranks 21st in pass defense and is 38th in yards allowed per rushing attempt.
The Aggies are first the nation in third-down defense, allowing just 35 conversions in 154 attempts. That 22.7% is easily the best defensively in the nation. (Miami is 10th best at 29.9.)
“Their third-down defense is really good,” UM offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “The players they have something to do with it, but [coach] Mike Elko does an elite job. … When they get you in third down the patterns they bring are tough.”
The Aggies have one of the nation’s most disruptive defensive ends in Cashius Howell, who has 11.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. He’ll be a challenge for UM left tackle Markel Bell, who hasn’t allowed a sack all season.
They have two stout defensive tackles in DJ Hicks (three sacks) and Tyler Onyedim (7.5 tackles for loss).
They have a standout linebacker in Taurean York (68 tackles, including 6.5 for loss) and two very good ones in Daymion Sanford (3.5 sacks) and Scooby Williams .
They have a secondary that has permitted only 183 passing yards per game and have a well-regarded cornerback in Will Lee II, a skilled nickel in Tyreek Chapell and solid safeties.
“They have an elite pass rush,” Dawson said.
Despite all of that, there are vulnerabilities to keep in mind when the teams meet in a playoff game on Saturday in College Station, Texas (noon, ABC, ESPN).
Consider:
1). The Aggies allowed 40 points against Notre Dame, 42 against Arkansas, 25 vs. LSU, 30 against South Carolina and 27 against Texas, which handed them their only loss in the regular-season finale for both teams.
2) The Aggies have allowed 26 plays of 30 or more yards, the most of any playoff team. That includes 15 passing plays of 30 yards or more, which is 58th in the country; UM has 22 such plays, which ranks 27th in the country.
3). Texas A&M has just three interceptions all season. Lee has permitted four TDs and a 111.8 passer rating in his coverage area. It’s 108.7 against safety Dalton Brooks.
4). The Aggies miss a lot of tackles. Safety Brooks has missed 21, the most in the country at his position. Cornerback Ricks and linebacker Stanford have 12 missed tackles apiece.
5). The run defense can have lapses. Texas steamrolled the Aggies for 218 yards rushing on 6.2 per carry. South Carolina rushed for 121 yards the previous game.
One interesting matchup: Chapell against UM second-team All American Malachi Toney. Chapell has permitted 32 completions in 47 targets for 314 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, equal to a 93.8 passer rating against.
This and that
▪ Apparently, Notre Dame won’t be the best team that Miami faces this season.
“They’re the most talented team we faced,” Mario Cristobal said of Texas A&M. “There’s a reason they were undefeated up until that last game. In their victories, they’ve been dominant just about all of them. Extremely well-balanced. Not any weaknesses.”
▪ Miami is sixth in scoring defense at 13.8 points permitted per game. Texas A&M is 41st at 21.9. This will be the best defense, statistically, that the Aggies will play this year.
But curiously, the Aggies are not showing much respect publicly for Rueben Bain Jr., UM’s most ballyhooed defender.
“We don’t think it’s a threat that much,” Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed told former ESPN analyst David Pollack on his podcast. “Another defender we have to go against.”
Texas A&M OL Trey Zuhn III said: “I don’t think he’ll be a threat that we need to worry about too much. We have a great offensive line, so we’ll be able to handle him.”
Bain’s reaction? “God bless those guys,” he said.
▪ Though some spew “negative garbage” about the Canes, Cristobal said the program’s growth is evident.
“Our goal is beyond the galaxy,” Cristobal said on his radio show. “We had an elite, elite class. [Miami has] established itself as a place people want to be at, football wise, academically, to the type of life you can have down here. There’s only one Miami.”
▪ ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller ranks UM’s Bain fourth among all draft prospects. “Bain is the most finished defensive line prospect in this class. He has to clean up the missed tackles, which occur when he closes to the ball with high leverage, but Bain is otherwise a very clean edge talent with double-digit sack upside in the NFL.”
Cristobal said Bain “has to be the best defensive player in the country.”
Miller has tackle Francis Mauigoa seventh on his Big Board, noting that “some NFL scouts see Mauigoa as a guard in the NFL due to his stocky frame, but his tape this season is that of a high-end tackle prospect.”
▪ The UM staff will miss departing linebacker Chase Smith, whose eligibility expires after the playoffs.
Cristobal said he’s “as valuable as anybody on our team. He’s physical, decisive, a knock back tackler. He made some really impressive plays on Saturday.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2025 at 10:07 AM.
