The first round of the College Football Playoffs is in the books. The biggest upset of the weekend was Texas A&M falling to Miami. It was a defensive battle between Texas A&M and Miami, but the Hurricanes took the 10-3 victory. The Miami season carries on as Texas A&M looks towards next season, after a tight battle. Now, the Aggies need to evaluate who is to blame for the disaster against Miami.
This will be billed as a defensive game, and it was, but it was also a game of missed chances. In the first quarter, both teams punted on their first drives before a fumble from Marcel Reed on the third drive of the game, giving Miami the ball. It did not lead to points, nor did the next turnover, as the game was 0-0 at the end of the first half.
The first points of the game came in the second half, on the first drive. Miami drove the field and hit a 21-yard field goal to make it 3-0. The next drive led to a Texas A&M interception, then a missed field goal by Miami. The Aggies scored in the fourth quarter to tie the game. Late in the fourth, Miami scored a touchdown, but with enough time for the Aggies to respond. They drove to the Miami five-yard line, but on third down, Marcel Reed threw a pick, as Miami won the game 10-3.
The officials hurt Texas A&M
In general, the penalties were called even. The refs were not a massive factor for most of the game. The Aggies were penalized four times for 15 yards, while the Hurricanes also had four penalties for 30 yards. Still, any Aggie fan is looking at a no-call as a turning point. The Aggies were down with under two minutes left in the game, and looking to tie the contest. They were driving to tie the game and ended up with a second-and-five pass. On that play, Marcel Reed hit Ruben Owens right at the goalline, but a massive hit jarred the ball loose. Still, many A&M fans are questioning the hit.
Can someone please explain how this isn’t helmet to helmet/targeting in the A&M v Miami game? No flag? How? pic.twitter.com/yztCWi0MsG
— TheTruth (@TheTruth9313) December 20, 2025
The hit was massive and could have been called for targeting. A targeting call would have made it first and goal at the 2.5-yard line, but instead it was called an incomplete pass. This led to a 3rd and five play, which was an interception. There is no way to tell if the play made a difference. At just past the two-yard line, they could have elected to run, but would have also had three shots at the endzone. Instead, they had just two shots, including a fourth down, and threw the interception. The game could have changed on that play for the Aggies, but they still had a shot, and no head coach wants the game decided by the refs.
Marcel Reed gets the blame
On the note of interceptions, there is nothing to say Macel Reed would not have thrown the backbreaking interception to end the game, had the refs called things in his favor in the fourth quarter. Still, Reed should shoulder some blame here. He has a horrible game, completing 25 of 39 passes for 273 yards and two interceptions. He did run for 27 yards, after being sacked seven times and ending up with 15 total attempts, but still, none of the runs found the end zone.
Reed broke multiple drives with his turnovers. Texas A&M drove deep in the first quarter and had driven to the 29-yard line of Miami, in a spot to at least kick a field goal to take the lead, by Marcel Reed fumbled on a sack to turn the ball over. The resulting Miami drive ended in a punt, but it was still a missed chance for the Aggies.
The Aggies got lucky later in the game. They had started a drive in their own territory in the third quarter, but on their own 29 on a third and ten, Reed threw an interception. Luckily for them, the resulting drive ended up in a missed field goal, but it was still another issue for the A&M offense.
There, there was the interception at the end of the gsme when Texas A&M was trying to tie it all up. Reed has been a major reason for the success of Texas A&M. He held the ball too long multiple times, helping lead to the seven sacks, a season high. He also had just three games all year without a touchdown. One was the 16-10 win over Auburn, but the other two are the losses to Texas and Miami. Reed had every chance to be the hero, but failed to do so.
The coaching staff shoulders the most blame
When you look up the top coaching records in the CFP, the names that pop up at Kirby Smart, Dabo Swinney, and the legendary Nick Saban. The difference between good and elite may come down to coaching, and Mike Elko may have proved that in his latest comments after the game.
“We came into this season, and I think the very realistic conversation about this team was we were a really good team that was going to have a chance in every game they played, was going to have fairly small margins to be successful, but was going to have an opportunity to go out there and be successful,” Elko reflected after the game. “I think that's exactly how it played out. We weren't able to tilt the margins in our favor the last two games. That's going to be a killer. One, to not go to Atlanta. One, to not go to the quarterfinals. So that's a killer. You've got to swallow it, and you've got to move forward, just like we did last year.”
This was a one-score game, and those are not easy, but big-time coaches win those games. Saban was 30-20 in those games, while also winning multiple times i the playoffs. Dabo Swinney has seen one-score games multiple times in the postseason, going 5-2. The best coaches in the nation normally win close games, but Elko did not.
Elko has made a habit of losing tight games. In his first season as a head coach, Duke went 9-4, with all four losses within one score. He would lose by a score or less three times the next season. At Texas A&M, he has lost three of his seven gsmes by a score or less. At the end of the day, close football games are all about the margins. Mike Elko has shown he cannot win on the margins.
