Hurricanes, Cristobal Knotch Signature Win Over Texas A&M 48-33

Posted on September 9, 2023 by Brandon Odoi

MIAMI GARDENS, FL– In an offensive explosion that made history, the Miami Hurricanes overcame a slow start to square up a home and home series with Texas A&M winning 48-33 behind Tyler Van Dyke’s five touchdown performance.  Van Dyke, who finished the game 21 for 30 with 374 yards passing and five touchdowns and no interceptions, became the first Hurricane quarterback ever to toss five touchdowns versus a ranked opponent.  Given the rich history of the Miami Hurricanes, that’s quite a feat.

How did Miami get the win? They played as physical as this team has played since 2018 against Notre Dame.  And most importantly, they overcame mistakes and miscues and found a way to atone for each one.  Amassing a total of 451 yards offense, complicated by 10 penalties for 115 yards, the Hurricanes defense bent but didn’t break.  And that’s even after it was put in some very difficult spots off muffed punts and blocked punts.

 

The miscues for Miami began early.  After a three and out on the Hurricane’s first drive, Texas A&M blocked a punt and the Aggies started their first drive from the Miami 15 yard-line. The immediately scored, putting Texas A&M ahead 7-0 after only one offensive drive.  The Aggies later added a field goal but; Miami would respond…

 

But then another miscue put the Hurricanes in an even bigger hole.  A muffed punt by Jacolby George led to Miami Gardens native, Amari Daniels, scoring to push the Aggie lead to 17-7.

 

Then as the game approached the end of the first half, the Hurricanes found their rhythm.

 

Then the Hurricanes would take the lead on an explosive play from Jacolby George who would make up for his muffed punt earlier in the half.

The third quarter proved to be the separating factor for the Hurricanes. An opening drive field goal for the Aggies brought the score to within one but that would be as close as Jimbo Fisher’s team would get for the game.

To win big games, you have to hit on explosive plays and Miami did just that with wideout Brashad Smith on special teams.

Miami would never really ever be in any serious again but would show their ability to sustain drives, play physical on defense, all the way to an impressive 48-33 win.

Final Score: 48-33 Miami over Texas A&M

News & Notes

All-American Safety Kam Kitchens went down late in the fourth quarter of the game making a tackle, colliding with James Williams and a Texas A&M wide out. He was down on the field for a long time. He was carted off and airlifted to Rhyder Trama Center immediately after. Post game, Head Coach Mario Cristobal said he was okay.

About Brandon Odoi

Brandon Odoi is a tenured journalist. He's covered youth football since 8th grade, high school football since 2009 and began covering college football in 2011 as a beat writer for the University of Miami Athletic programs. In 2011, he founded Football Hotbed a national multi-media platform for football across the country. He's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and spent his first five years as a professional working at ABC Television Network, ending his career as a producer in Miami. He's married with two sons and a daughter and resides in South Florida.
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