Nine notable stats from the Hurricanes’ first-round playoff win over Texas A&M
The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes’ national championship hopes are still alive after a 10-3 upset win over the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.
Miami (11-2) next faces the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1) in a quarterfinal matchup in the Cotton Bowl (Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.).
Here are nine notable stats from the Hurricanes’ win over the Aggies.
10: Miami’s 10 points are fewest by a team that has won a game in the College Football Playoff — a total of 45 games. Teams scoring 10 or fewer points are now a combined 1-10 in the CFP era.
The previous low for a winning team before Miami on Saturday: 23 by Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl during last season’s quarterfinal round.
On average, the winners of the other 44 contested CFP games (including the other three first-round games this season) have scored 38.3 points.
3: On the flip side of the score, Miami held a Texas A&M team that entered Saturday averaging 36.3 points per game to just three points.
It marked just the fourth time in CFP history a team was held to no more than three points. The other instances: Clemson’s 30-3 win over Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl during the 2018-19 season, Clemson’s 31-0 win over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl during the 2016-17 season and Alabama’s 38-0 win over Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl during the 2015-16 season.
0: The Hurricanes and Aggies combined for zero points in the first half. It’s the first time in CFP history a game was 0-0 at the break.
Miami and Texas A&M had 12 total drives in the first two quarters. The results of those drives: seven punts (four by Miami, three by Texas A&M), two Miami missed field goals, a blocked Texas A&M field goal, a Texas A&M turnover and a Texas A&M turnover on downs on a fake punt attempt.
3: Defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. had a team-high three of Miami’s seven sacks on Saturday. It’s a career-high for Bain, who never had more than two in any game of his three-year Miami career.
Bain is just the 10th Hurricanes player since 2005 to have a three-sack game. That group (starting with the most recent to do so) includes Tyler Baron, Akheem Mesidor, Gregory Rousseau (twice), Marcus Robinson, Allen Bailey, Olivier Vernon, Marcus Robinson, Calais Campbell and Javon Nanton.
2: Freshman defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald had two interceptions on Saturday, including a pick in the back of the end zone with 24 seconds left to seal the win.
Fitzgerald now has six interceptions on the season, becoming just the 10th UM player over the past 50 years to have that many in a season. The group he joins (starting with the most recent to do so) includes Kamren Kinchens (six in 2022), Artie Burns (six in 2015), Sean Taylor (10 in 2003), Ed Reed (nine in 2001 and eight in 2000), Roland Smith (six in 1989), Bennie Blades (10 in 1986), Fred Marion (six in 1981 and seven in 1980), Gene Coleman (nine in 1979) and Bryan Ferguson (seven in 1977).
172: Running back Mark Fletcher ran for a career-high 172 yards against Texas A&M. His previous single-game best was 126 against Louisville on Nov. 18, 2023, as a freshman.
0: The Hurricanes’ offensive line committed zero pre-snap penalties on Saturday.
89: With five catches on Saturday, Malachi Toney now has 89 on the season. That’s a new Hurricanes single-season record, surpassing the previous mark set by Xavier Restrepo in the 2023 season.
Toney also has 992 receiving yards, putting him 8 yards away from becoming the eighth player in UM history to have a 1,000 receiving yard season. That group includes Charleston Rambo (1,172 yards, 2021 season), Allen Hurns (1,162 yards, 2013 season), Leonard Hankerson (1,156 yards, 2010 season), Restrepo (1,127 yards, 2024 season; 1,092 yards, 2023 season), Eddie Brown (1,114 yards, 1984 season) and Andre Johnson (1092 yards, 2002 season).
10: Nickel cornerback Keionte Scott had a career-high 10 tackles in his first game back from an undisclosed lower-body injury that sidelined him for Miami’s final three regular-season games. Scott also had two sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble against Texas A&M.