COLLEGE STATION, Texas — No. 10 Miami leaned on a punishing ground game and a takeaway-hungry defense, outlasting No. 7 Texas A&M 10-3 Saturday in the College Football Playoff first-round rock fight at Kyle Field. Malachi Toney’s 11-yard touchdown catch from Carson Beck with 1:49 left snapped a 3-3 tie and pushed the Hurricanes into the Cotton Bowl against No. 2 Ohio State on New Year’s Eve.
Miami spent much of the afternoon trading punts, sacks and missed chances with an A&M team that moved the ball early but kept tripping over its own feet. The Aggies out-gained the Hurricanes 175-69 before halftime, but walked into the locker room with a 0-0 tie after turnovers and missed kicks erased scoring chances.
Miami’s defense set the tone with pressure and contact. Keionte Scott jarred the ball loose from quarterback Marcel Reed in the first quarter and Armondo Blount recovered to flip the field. Later, Rueben Bain Jr. swatted away a short Aggies field-goal try after Marcel Reed’s 59-yard strike to Mario Craver set up first-and-goal.
Miami’s offense never found its rhythm in the first half either, but it manufactured field position in other ways. Toney ripped off a 55-yard punt return, then watched kicker Carter Davis push a 47-yard attempt wide.
After the break, Miami finally broke through on the scoreboard. Beck guided a 72-yard drive, and Davis drilled a 21-yard field goal for a 3-0 advantage. Texas A&M answered with its best march of the day. 16 plays for 67 yards, and Randy Bond tied the game at 3-3 on a 35-yard field goal of his own.
Miami responded with its most explosive drive of the day, with Mark Fletcher Jr. ripping a 56-yard run to ignite an 86-yard march. Malachi Toney finished the drive with a run around the end and into the end zone, then Davis added the extra point for a 10-3 lead.
Texas A&M had a final shot, and nearly got all the way down field before making one last fatal mistake. Bryce Fitzgerald snagged his second interception in the closing moments in the end zone, cutting off the Aggies’ drive inside the 10 and ending any overtime dreams.
Mark Fletcher powered Miami with 172 rushing yards on 17 carries, while Carson Beck delivered a controlled 14-of-20 passing line for 103 yards and the winning score. Marcel Reed threw for 237 yards on 25-of-39 passing, but Miami’s defense forced two interceptions and turned the last one into a ticket to the Cotton Bowl.
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