COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Malachi Toney’s tiebreaking 11-yard touchdown reception with less than two minutes left lifted No. 10 seed Miami to a 10-3 victory over No. 7 Texas A&M on Saturday in the College Football Playoff.
Mark Fletcher Jr. had a career-high 172 yards rushing to help the Hurricanes (11-2) advance to the Cotton Bowl to face second-seeded Ohio State on Dec. 31.
Miami has won five straight since dropping two of three games.
“Forty-plus days ago, we were lower than low and found a way to just bring a different level of energy every single day and lift each other and the program up,” coach Mario Cristobal said. “And here we are with a chance to keep playing, and that’s all that matters now, 1-0.”
Toney’s big play came a series after what looked a devastating mistake for the freshman. Toney made a reception, but Dalton Brooks knocked the ball out and Daymion Sanford recovered it on the Texas A&M 47 with about seven minutes to go. Teammates surrounded a visibly upset Toney on the bench, encouraging him and trying to keep him positive.
“You saw the entire team just go right to him after the fumble,” Cristobal said. “Everybody trusts him. A lot of the reason why we are here today is his playmaking ability… they knew that there was going to be some more football to be played, and he was going to be a big part of the reason why we were going to have a chance to pull out the game.”
He and Miami’s offense got another chance when Rueben Bain Jr. sacked Marcel Reed on two of three plays on the ensuing drive to force a punt.
A career-long 56-yard run by Fletcher on the first play of the next drive got the Hurricanes to the Texas A&M 30 with about three minutes to go. Miami used four more runs by Fletcher to get into scoring position before Toney took the short toss from Carson Beck and dashed into the end zone.
The Aggies had a chance to tie it after that, but Bryce Fitzgerald intercepted a pass for the second time — this time in the end zone — to end it.
The Hurricanes used a suffocating defensive performance to stifle Texas A&M’s powerful offense, which entered the game averaging 36.3 points a game. They harassed Reed into a mistake-filled performance that included a first-quarter fumble along with the interceptions. They sacked him seven times and flushed him out of the pocket and forced him to try to make tough throws again and again.
He was 25 of 39 for 257 yards but was unable to get the Aggies in the end zone for the first time this season.
“We thought this season obviously could have been a lot better than what it ended at, but we’re proud of what we accomplished,” Reed said. “We’re growing.”
After getting the last at-large bid in the playoff thanks to their win over Notre Dame in the opener, the Hurricanes now move on, with a chance to win their first national championship since 2001 in their first appearance in the CFP.
“Let us never, ever devalue the importance of head-to-head competition, please,” Cristobal said.
Carter Davis missed three field goals in gusty win after missing only two before Saturday. His 21-yard kick early in the third quarter got the Canes on the board after the first scoreless first half in CFP history.
It’s a disappointing playoff debut for Texas A&M (11-2), which lost to rival Texas in its regular-season finale after opening the season with 11 straight wins.
“We were not an elite program ready to compete for a national championship when we took over,” said coach Mike Elko who is in his second season. “We’re still not. We’re working to become it. We’re battling to become it. I think clearly these last two games have showed there’s still room in areas that we have to continue to grow.”
Beck, in his first season at Miami after a transfer from Georgia, was 14 of 20 for a season-low 103 yards.
Randy Bond finally got the Aggies on the board when he tied it with a 35-yard field goal with about eight minutes to go.
The Hurricanes opened the second half with a 21-yard field goal to make it 3-0.
Fitzgerald intercepted Reed and returned it 36 yards. But the ‘Canes came up empty after the turnover when a 35-yard field goal attempt by Davis bounced off the left upright.
Reed fumbled late in the first quarter, but the Hurricanes were unable to cash in on the miscue. A 59-yard reception by Mario Craver got the Aggies to the 11 early in the second. But they couldn’t move the ball and attempted a 22-yard field goal, which was blocked by Bain. It was Miami’s first blocked field goal since the season opener against Bethune-Cookman in 2022.
Toney’s 55-yard punt return got the Hurricanes to the 25 with about six minutes left in the second quarter. He would have scored if not for a shoestring tackle by Marcus Ratcliffe. But Brooks sacked Beck on third down to force a 47-yard field goal attempt by Davis, which sailed wide right.
Punter Tyler White’s throw on a fake punt sailed just out of reach of a diving Marcus Ratcliffe to give Miami the ball on the Texas A&M 46 with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. Davis tried a field goal from 40 as time expired in the first half, but it was wide right again.
The takeaway
Miami: The Hurricanes proved they belonged in the CFP after some questioned if they should have gotten in ahead of Notre Dame.
Texas A&M: Now that they’ve finally made the CFP, the Aggies will have a long offseason to figure out what went wrong in their disappointing quick exit.
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