Next Saturday will be the sixth meeting all-time between Texas A&M and Miami.
A series that dates back to 1944, the Hurricanes currently hold a 3-2 lead over the Aggies, having won the most recent matchup at Hard Rock Stadium in 2023.
As the Ags and Canes prepare for a massive showdown in the first round of the College Football Playoff at Kyle Field, here’s a quick look back at the series history between the two schools.
Dec. 8, 1944 - A&M 70, Miami 14 (Miami, FL)
In 1943, Homer H. Norton’s “Kiddie Corps” went 7-2-1 and earned a berth in the 1944 Orange Bowl, which A&M dropped to LSU on New Year’s Day, 19-14.
The following season, Norton and another war-depleted roster that featured five returners traveled back to South Beach for a regular-season finale against the Miami Hurricanes.
Entering the December date at 6-4 overall and 2-3 in the Southwest Conference, the Ags handed Miami the worst loss in program history in front of an estimated 10,000 spectators at Burdine Stadium, which was renamed as the “Orange Bowl” five years later.
According to an article in Miami’s student newspaper, A&M played its first-stringers for the first three quarters as running back Mann Scott scored four touchdowns.
After the loss put the finishing touches on a brutal 1-7-1 season for the Canes, Eddie Dunn’s two-year stint as Miami’s interim ended upon Jack Harding’s return from World War II. In 1945, Harding & Co. went 9-1-1 and won the Orange Bowl.
For the Aggies, tackle Monty Moncrief was named an All-American in 1944, and he was joined on the All-SWC team by end Clarence Howell and fullback Paul Yates.
Sept. 20, 2007 - Miami 34, A&M 17 (Miami, FL)
Five days after thrashing Louisiana Monroe at Kyle Field, Dennis Franchione’s Aggies traveled to the Orange Bowl for the first time since that 1944 trip.
On a rare Thursday night game, No. 20 A&M suffered its first of six losses in what would be Franchione’s final season at the helm.
Miami signal-caller Kyle Wright threw for 275 yards and two scores, and running back Graig Cooper had a pair of touchdowns as the unranked Hurricanes doubled up the Ags in front of 44,622.
A&M was held scoreless until a 32-yard field goal with 11:40 left in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 31-3. With about eight minutes to play, starting quarterback Stephen McGee ran for a 1-yard score, and in mop-up time, freshman Jerrod Johnson connected with junior Martellus Bennett on a 33-yard scoring pass with five seconds remaining.
An Aggie rushing attack led by McGee and junior tailbacks Mike Goodson and Jorvorskie Lane entered the contest averaging nearly 300 yards per game, but Miami held them to 98. McGee served as the leading rusher with 39 yards on 16 carries.
A lackluster regular season ended with a 38-30 upset of No. 13 Texas in College Station, after which Franchione announced his resignation. Gary Darnell served as A&M’s interim coach for a 24-17 loss to Joe Paterno and Penn State in the Alamo Bowl.
Sept. 20, 2008 - Miami 41, A&M 23 (College Station, TX)
Three weeks after losing his debut to Arkansas State, Mike Sherman fell to 0-2 at Kyle Field as the Hurricanes completed a sweep of the non-conference home-and-home series.
Without redshirt senior Stephen McGee, who sprained his shoulder at New Mexico on Sept. 6, sophomore Jerrod Johnson threw for three touchdown passes in his first career start, but it was not nearly enough.
On the game’s first snap, Johnson and Mike Goodson connected for a 62-yard touchdown, but less than two minutes later, Miami answered and took a 14-10 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
The Canes then scored the next 27 points unanswered as the Ags lost the turnover battle, 3-1, including a scoop-and-score by linebacker Glenn Cook to make it 41-10.
Graig Cooper ran for 128 yards on 16 carries for a pair of touchdowns.
Goodson finished with 12 carries for 67 rushing yards as he also reeled in four catches for 79 yards and two scores. Johnson also connected with true freshman receiver Jeff Fuller for the third of his 34 career touchdowns.
The Aggies finished 2008 with a 4-8 record as their only Big 12 wins came at 2-10 Iowa State on Oct. 25 and against 5-7 Colorado at Kyle Field on Nov. 1.
Things got better in 2009...kinda...not really.
Sept. 17, 2022 - A&M 17, Miami 9 (College Station, TX)
The lights of Kyle Field welcomed 107,245 for a top-25 showdown in Week 3...just seven days after what was the beginning of the end for Jimbo Fisher vs. Appalachian State.
Miami, led by a junior quarterback that projected (at the time) as a first-rounder in Tyler Van Dyke, entered the game ranked No. 13 under first-year head coach Mario Cristobal.
However, Van Dyke completed 51.2 percent of his passes as the Hurricanes did not find the endzone against D.J. Durkin’s defense, instead settling for a trio of Andres Borregales field goals.
For A&M, Max Johnson went 10-for-20 for 140 yards and a 25-yard touchdown to De’Von Achane that built a 17-3 lead early in the third quarter.
The Aggies scored twice in the first quarter, opening the game on a 26-yard field goal by sophomore Randy Bond, the first of his collegiate career (which is still ongoing). Redshirt freshman running back LJ Johnson Jr. scored the first of his two touchdowns as an Aggie with a 1-yard tote that put A&M up for good. Senior Ainias Smith had four catches for a game-high 74 yards, and Achane finished with 130 yards of total offense.
Miami outgained A&M 392-264, but a fumbled punt by Tyrique Stevenson gave the Aggies the ball at the Hurricane 28-yard line, which turned into Johnson’s score in the opening frame.
Despite being a defensive struggle, A&M did not manage a single sack, though Demani Richardson did force a fumble. Cornerback Jaylon Jones finished as the team’s leading tackle with nine stops.
Both teams finished 5-7 as the Aggies suffered through a six-game losing streak that spanned from Oct. 1 through Nov. 12.
Sept. 9, 2023 - Miami 48, A&M 33 (Miami Gardens, FL)
In stark contrast to the year prior, the most recent meeting between the Aggies and Hurricanes was an offensive explosion.
Week 2 of the 2023 season saw No. 23 A&M travel to Hard Rock Stadium to face unranked Miami as 48,792 watched the Maroon & White suffer the first of six losses in Jimbo Fisher’s final season at the helm.
Behind Conner Weigman’s 1-yard run in the first and Miami native Amari Daniels’ 9-yard score in the second, A&M led 17-7 early.
But a 52-yard touchdown connection between Tyler Van Dyke and Isaiah Horton, followed by an 11-yard pass to Jacolby George with 13 seconds left in the first half, put A&M in a 21-17 hole.
Randy Bond’s 28-yarder on the opening drive of the third quarter trimmed the deficit to one point, but Brashard Smith delivered a massive momentum shift in the form of a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
A&M had its chances in the second half, but two Weigman interceptions and a Daniels fumble erased their first-half scores as Miami went up by 15 points in the fourth. After a 9-yard touchdown catch by Noah Thomas with 5:02 to play, the Aggies’ comeback bid was officially thwarted by Van Dyke’s fifth scoring pass of the day as he found George for a 64-yard knockout blow.
Fisher was ultimately fired the morning after A&M demolished Mississippi State on Nov. 11 as both teams finished with identical 7-6 records with bowl losses in the Texas Bowl and Pinstripe Bowl, respectively.
Cristobal rebounded with a 10-win season in 2024 and has the Hurricanes in their first playoff in his fourth season, while Fisher’s successor — Mike Elko — has tied the program record with 19 wins in the first two years of his tenure.
