Preview: Miami’s offense vs. A&M’s defense
AggieYell.com’s breakdown of the matchup between No. 23 Texas A&M (1-0) and Miami (1-0) continues with a look at the Hurricanes offense against the Aggie defense.
Where, when, weather and TV
Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
When: 2:30 p.m. central time, Saturday, Sept. 9
Weather: Warm and humid, high of 89; 40% chance of thunderstorms
TV: ABC
Injury update
Miami: RB Trevonte Citizen (knee) is doubtful. TE Elijah Arroyo (knee) is probable.
Texas A&M: The status of LB JD Davis (“banged up”) is unclear.
Miami two-deep
QB: #9, Tyler Van Dyke; RS-Jr.;
#11, Jacurri Brown; So.
RB: #21, Henry Parrish Jr.; Jr-TR.
#22, Mark Fletcher Jr.; Fr.
TE: #84, Cam McCormick; RS-Sr.-TR.
#80, Elijah Arroyo; Jr.
WR-X: #4, Colbie Young; Jr.-TR.
#83, Shemar Kirk; Jr.-TR.
WR-Z: #3, Jacolby George; Jr.
#15, Tyler Harrell; RS-Sr.-TR.
WR-H: #7, Xavier Restrepo; Jr.
#4, Ray Ray Joseph; Fr.
LT: #64, Jalen Rivers; RS-So.
#63, Samson Okunlola; Fr.
LG: #70, Javion Cohen; Sr.-TR.
#76, Ryan Rodriguez; RS-So.
C: #55, Matt Lee; Sr.-TR.
#52, Luis Cristobal Jr.; RS-Jr.
RG: #73, Anez Cooper; So.
#77, Logan Sagapolu; RS-So.
RT: #61, Francis Mauigoa; Fr.
#78, Matthew McCoy; RS-Fr.
Texas A&M two-deep
DE: #10, Fadil Diggs; 6-5, 260; RS-Jr.
#18, LT Overton; 6-5, 265; So.
NT: #3, McKinnley Jackson; 6-2, 325; Sr.
#34, Isaiah Raikes; 6-2, 325; RS-Jr.
DT: #0, Walter Nolen; 6-4, 290; So.
#17, Albert Regis; 6-2, 325; So.
DE: #5, Shemar Turner; 6-4, 290; Jr.
#4, Shemar Stewart; 6-6, 285; So.
WILL: #45, Edgerrin Cooper; 6-3, 230; RS-Jr.
#40, Martrell Harris Jr.; 6-2, 220; So.
MIKE: #21, Taurean York; 6, 230; Fr.
#24, Chris Russell Jr.; 6-2, 235; RS-Sr.
NICKEL: #1, Bryce Anderson; 6, 195; So.
#25, Dalton Brooks; 6, 195; Fr.
CB: #7, Tyreek Chappell; 5-11, 185; Jr.
#16, Sam McCall; 6-1, 185; So.-TR.
SS: #26, Demani Richardson; 6-1, 215; RS-Sr.
#2, Jacoby Mathews; 6-2, 215; So.
FS: #20, Jardin Gilbert; 6-1, 200; Jr.
#33, Jarred Kerr; 6, 195; So.
CB: #28, Josh DeBerry; 6-1, 180; Gr.-TR.
#14, Jayvon Thomas; 6, 190; Fr.
Miami statistical leaders
Rushing: Parrish, 9 carries, 90 yards, 1 TD
Fletcher, 9 carries, 76 yards, 1 TD
Passing: Van Dyke, 17-22, 201 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Williams, 3-3, 42 yards
Receiving: George, 6 catches, 56 yards
Restrepo, 5 catches, 68 yards
Young, 4 catches, 79 yards, 1 TD
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Tackles: DeBerry, 10
Cooper, 8
Nolen, 7
Tackles for loss: Cooper, 3
DeBerry, 1.5
Sacks: DeBerry and Turner, 1
Interceptions: DeBerry, 1
Head-to-head
Miami’s offense vs. Texas A&M’s defense
What Miami wants to do
Control the clock and run the football. Keep the heat off Van Dyke and allow him to get into a rhythm.
The Hurricanes ran the ball extremely well last weekend, especially with Parrish. He can get outside and make plays or grind up right up the gut with his physical running style. In other words, he’s still the same guy that had Aggie fans going “WTF is this guy?” when he was at Ole Miss two years ago.
Van Dyke was terrible last year against A&M but was 17-22 last week. But Miami’s passing game works almost as an extension of their running game, as there’s a lot of short passes. Their big play last week was a 44-year touchdown, and it was a bubble screen where Young did the work. Bluntly, Van Dyke did not throw the deep ball well and misjudged an intermediate pass badly, threw it with very little zip (lofted it) and it was picked off.
But those kinds of short plays allowed Miami to keep the ball, wear down Miami (Ohio) and eventually blow them out. They have a big line, run block well and provided plenty of time for Van Dyke against the Redhawks. So the Aggies will have to flip the script on them.
How the Aggies may try to counter
This is definitely a “lane” game, where the defensive line and linebackers will have to stick to their assignments. They don’t want to get out of position and give up a big play on the ground. A&M will probably go with the big front (Turner, Jackson, Nolen or Raikes and Diggs) to try to slow the running game down. They definitely want Miami playing behind the sticks, because Van Dyke — while looking a whole lot better — was still inaccurate with medium to deep passes last weekend.
The first thing A&M needs to do is cut off the edges. They did that well last weekend, but it’s even more important now. Miami’s favorite play last weekend was running over left tackle, and they did it extremely well. A&M has to hold the tackle there and have assistance ready to come up.
If the Aggies can hold up against the run, Miami’s offense gets completely out of whack. They want to stay short to medium in the passing game, with an occasional deep shot. If they’re back behind the sticks, that plan gets disrupted. So winning first down in this game is even more important (and you can say obvious) than normal.
