Miami and Alabama kickstart College Football Playoffs with upset victories

After sneaking into the College Football Playoffs, the Miami Hurricanes are headed into the second round.

The No. 10 Hurricanes upset the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies 10-3 in their first-round matchup in College Station, Texas on Saturday.

Miami was on the outside looking in to the playoff until the final CFP rankings were revealed on Dec. 7. Now, the Hurricanes will play No. 2 Ohio State on New Year’s Eve in the quarterfinals.

Freshman cornerback Bryce Fitzgerald sealed the win for Miami, intercepting Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed in the end zone with 24 seconds left to prevent a game-tying touchdown. Hurricanes freshman receiver Malachi Toney scored the game’s lone touchdown on a short pass with under two minutes to go.

Miami joins the Alabama Crimson Tide as the second team to punch their ticket to the second round of the CFP, as the No. 9 Crimson Tide overcame a 17-0 deficit to upset the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners 34-24 on Friday.

Saturday’s game, on the other hand, was an ugly, defensive slugfest.

Texas A&M and the Hurricanes combined to make only 2 of 6 field goals and convert only 11 of 31 third or fourth down attempts. The teams also combined for four turnovers, including three costly ones by the Aggies.

The first half was the first scoreless opening half in CFP history. Miami missed three field goals, while Texas A&M missed one, fumbled on another possession, and turned the ball over on downs on another.

The Hurricanes opened the second half with their first made field goal, only to miss another after Reed’s first interception of the game.

The teams then traded punts before the Aggies finally tied the game in the fourth quarter on a short field goal to cap a 16-play, 67-yard drive.

Toney fumbled following the Texas A&M score, but Miami’s defense forced a punt on the Aggies’ ensuing drive. That set the stage for the Hurricanes’ best possession of the game, a six-play, 86-yard jaunt that ended with a Toney touchdown.

The Hurricanes were able to march down the field largely due to running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who ran five times for 75 yards to set up the Toney touchdown. Fletcher Jr. finished with 172 yards on 17 carries.

Texas A&M, however, quickly got in position to tie the game after the Miami score. The Aggies covered 70 yards in only 10 plays to make it all the way to the Hurricanes’ five-yard line with 33 seconds to go. After Reed threw incomplete on first and second down, Fitzgerald hauled in his second pick of the game on third and goal.

With Miami and Alabama advancing, two quarterfinal matchups are now set.

The Crimson Tide will play the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, will play the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl.

Miami and Ohio State last met in the postseason in 2003, when the Buckeyes upset the Hurricanes 31-24 in the national championship game.