The College Football Playoff gets underway Friday night with No. 9 Alabama playing at No. 8 Oklahoma. On Saturday, No. 10 Miami travels to No. 7 Texas A&M (noon ET, ESPN/ABC).
Also on Saturday, No. 11 Tulane plays at No. 6 Ole Miss, and No. 12 James Madison visits No. 5 Oregon.
The Hurricanes (10-2) are the lowest-seeded at-large team. They finished the season with four straight wins, including a victory at 22nd-ranked Pitt on Nov. 30.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck, a Georgia transfer, threw for 3,072 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. When he has been at his best, Miami has looked like a contender. When Beck has been off, the Hurricanes are a different team.
Defensive lineman Rueben Bain has been a standout with 4.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. Like Beck, his play has been inconsistent. But when he is on, Bain can be a game changer. ESPN has him rated as the fourth-best prospect in the NFL Draft.
Texas A&M (11-1) went undefeated until losing at No. 16 Texas in the last game of the regular season. Running back Le’Veon Moss is dealing with an ankle injury but could return to the Aggies lineup. Dual-threat quarterback Marcel Reed threw for 2,932 yards and rushed for 466, second-most on the team. He accounted for 31 touchdowns this season for the Aggies.
First-round games are all played on college campuses, with quarterfinal matchups played at bowl sites. One of Miami’s biggest challenges will be handling the atmosphere of Kyle Field.
“It comes down to your preparation because at the end of the day, this is going to come down to the 22 that are on the field, that are actually executing against each other, and execution is at a premium,” said Miami head coach Mario Cristobal. “And to get to that point where you’re executing to your standard. It’s steps, it’s fundamentals, it’s a combination of things that you just can’t compromise.”
The winner of the first-round game advances to face second-seeded Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31. The top four seeds earned a first-round bye. No. 1 Indiana, No.3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech also await their opponents for the national quarterfinals.
