Originally from miamihurricanes.com
Carson Beck could barely watch.
As names popped up on the screen during the College Football Playoff Selection Show earlier this month, the quarterback got up from the couch in his living room and went into his kitchen where he kept a somewhat nervous eye and ear on the television.
That same day, Akheem Mesidor was in the weight room at the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility, nervously watching the selection show on his phone, unsure what to expect after days and days of debate and social media speculation about Miami’s postseason fate.
And Rueben Bain Jr.? Well, he tuned out all the noise and decided to take a nap – waking up only when the Hurricanes’ playoff berth was announced and his phone began ringing non-stop.
For the Hurricanes, months of preparation, 12 games, and a stellar four-game win streak to close out the regular season have come together to bring them to this point: their first appearance in the College Football Playoffs.
Miami, which won 10 games for the second straight year under head coach Mario Cristobal, secured its playoff berth after rising from No. 18 in the initial CFP rankings to No. 10 on Dec. 7.
That steady rise gave the Hurricanes the final at-large berth in the field and now, on Saturday morning, they’ll step onto college football’s biggest stage in one of the sport’s biggest venues: Kyle Field, home of the seventh-seeded Texas A&M Aggies.
It’s a moment Miami’s players and coaches say has been years in the making.
“This is something that we all hoped for. No, something we all worked for. I’m not even going to say hope. We all worked to earn this,” said Bain, a consensus All-American defensive lineman and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. “When you’re putting in the work for something, it’s kind of a relief to see all the results and all the success. So, this is something we all dreamed of, all the freshmen who came in, we helped the program turn around … We’re all on cloud nine, but we know there’s more work to be done.”
That work now includes finding ways to handle a Texas A&M team that opened the season with 11 straight wins, has a talented, dual-threat quarterback in Marcel Reed and has one of the nation’s top pass rushes.
The Aggies (11-1) enter Saturday’s playoff game with one of the nation’s top 20 offenses, averaging 454.4 yards per game and Reed is a big reason why.
The redshirt sophomore has completed 62 percent of his passes and thrown for 2,932 yards and 25 touchdowns. He’s been especially solid in games against top 25 opponents, throwing for 963 yards and six touchdowns against ranked foes.
Reed has also rushed for another 466 yards and six touchdowns.
One of his top targets is a familiar face for Miami – former NC State receiver KC Concepcion, who this month was named the 2025 Paul Hornung Award winner as college football’s most versatile player.
Concepcion has 57 catches for 886 yards and nine touchdowns on the year, along with 460 punt return yards.
Understandably, the Hurricanes (10-2) expect both playmakers will be a challenge.
“What you learn is that if you’re not disciplined, you’re going to pay the price in chunk plays, right? Extended plays, improvisations, guys that break free,” Cristobal said. “You’re looking at a quarterback that keeps his eyes down the field, has a great connection with his wide receivers. When he does find time and space, everybody’s working. That’s the dangerous part of a team that can extend plays like that, all the off-script stuff. … In football, when you play really good teams, there’s very little wiggle room. The margin for error is very, very small.”
Added Bain, “We have to hone in on our details and trust one another because they play really good football up front. They play really good football on the perimeter and at the quarterback [position], they have a really good guy back there. Even the defensive side of the ball, all around, it’s a good, solid program. We’re a good program, too.”
Along with contending with A&M’s offense and a defense that leads the nation with 41 sacks, the Hurricanes will have to deal with one of the loudest environments in college football.
The Aggies have a 10-game streak dating back to 2024 of 100,000-plus fans at their home games at Kyle Field and the early kickoff won’t make Saturday’s game any less attended. Three times this season Texas A&M has had more than 100,000 fans at Kyle Field despite the local 11 a.m. kickoff time.
The Hurricanes are expecting another 100,000-plus fans Saturday, too and have been doing their best to prepare for the noise they’re going to face.
“These big games, the atmosphere and the environment is going to be next to none,” said Beck, who is second in the nation with a 74.7 completion percentage. “For us, what that means is focusing in on our preparation. … We’re super excited for this opportunity, super excited for the challenge that this is going to bring towards us. But again, you’ve got to focus on your preparation and continue to work each day and then ultimately, on Saturday, go out and execute.”
Miami enters the matchup knowing it is playing some of its best football of late.
Over the course of the Hurricanes’ last four games, Miami’s offense has averaged 38 points and 450 yards. The Hurricanes also notched road wins at both Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh.
And Miami has also found ways to get freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney even more involved, with the ACC Rookie of the Year not only catching passes, but throwing them and contributing on special teams, too.
Toney enters Saturday’s game having already broken Miami’s freshman receiving record and needs just 30 yards to top the 1,000-yard mark on the season. Beck, meanwhile, has thrown for 3,072 yards and 25 touchdowns and running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who returned to action after missing two games with an injury, has a team-high 685 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns.
That offensive firepower, combined with a top 11 defense that has held opponents to an average of 277.8 yards per game, has helped make Miami a playoff team.
Now, the Hurricanes say, the goal is to keep their season going, one game at a time.
“We always knew what we were capable of as a team and at the end of the day, this is a kid’s game. You’ve got little kids playing this game. It’s simple. Just, people make it hard,” Fletcher said. “At the end of the day, we all have a goal that we want to set and when we just come together as one, I don’t feel like there’s anybody who can stop us.”
Added Bain, “This is what I came here for. … But we’re not finished. I mean, there’s a whole bunch of stuff we still have to do, still have to prove and earn. So, we’re just playing football the way we’re playing, and knowing that we’ve got this opportunity, we’re not going to take it lightly.”
Carson Beck could barely watch.
As names popped up on the screen during the College Football Playoff Selection Show earlier this month, the quarterback got up from the couch in his living room and went into his kitchen where he kept a somewhat nervous eye and ear on the television.
That same day, Akheem Mesidor was in the weight room at the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility, nervously watching the selection show on his phone, unsure what to expect after days and days of debate and social media speculation about Miami’s postseason fate.
And Rueben Bain Jr.? Well, he tuned out all the noise and decided to take a nap – waking up only when the Hurricanes’ playoff berth was announced and his phone began ringing non-stop.
For the Hurricanes, months of preparation, 12 games, and a stellar four-game win streak to close out the regular season have come together to bring them to this point: their first appearance in the College Football Playoffs.
Miami, which won 10 games for the second straight year under head coach Mario Cristobal, secured its playoff berth after rising from No. 18 in the initial CFP rankings to No. 10 on Dec. 7.
That steady rise gave the Hurricanes the final at-large berth in the field and now, on Saturday morning, they’ll step onto college football’s biggest stage in one of the sport’s biggest venues: Kyle Field, home of the seventh-seeded Texas A&M Aggies.
It’s a moment Miami’s players and coaches say has been years in the making.
“This is something that we all hoped for. No, something we all worked for. I’m not even going to say hope. We all worked to earn this,” said Bain, a consensus All-American defensive lineman and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. “When you’re putting in the work for something, it’s kind of a relief to see all the results and all the success. So, this is something we all dreamed of, all the freshmen who came in, we helped the program turn around … We’re all on cloud nine, but we know there’s more work to be done.”
That work now includes finding ways to handle a Texas A&M team that opened the season with 11 straight wins, has a talented, dual-threat quarterback in Marcel Reed and has one of the nation’s top pass rushes.
The Aggies (11-1) enter Saturday’s playoff game with one of the nation’s top 20 offenses, averaging 454.4 yards per game and Reed is a big reason why.
The redshirt sophomore has completed 62 percent of his passes and thrown for 2,932 yards and 25 touchdowns. He’s been especially solid in games against top 25 opponents, throwing for 963 yards and six touchdowns against ranked foes.
Reed has also rushed for another 466 yards and six touchdowns.
One of his top targets is a familiar face for Miami – former NC State receiver KC Concepcion, who this month was named the 2025 Paul Hornung Award winner as college football’s most versatile player.
Concepcion has 57 catches for 886 yards and nine touchdowns on the year, along with 460 punt return yards.
Understandably, the Hurricanes (10-2) expect both playmakers will be a challenge.
“What you learn is that if you’re not disciplined, you’re going to pay the price in chunk plays, right? Extended plays, improvisations, guys that break free,” Cristobal said. “You’re looking at a quarterback that keeps his eyes down the field, has a great connection with his wide receivers. When he does find time and space, everybody’s working. That’s the dangerous part of a team that can extend plays like that, all the off-script stuff. … In football, when you play really good teams, there’s very little wiggle room. The margin for error is very, very small.”
Added Bain, “We have to hone in on our details and trust one another because they play really good football up front. They play really good football on the perimeter and at the quarterback [position], they have a really good guy back there. Even the defensive side of the ball, all around, it’s a good, solid program. We’re a good program, too.”
Along with contending with A&M’s offense and a defense that leads the nation with 41 sacks, the Hurricanes will have to deal with one of the loudest environments in college football.
The Aggies have a 10-game streak dating back to 2024 of 100,000-plus fans at their home games at Kyle Field and the early kickoff won’t make Saturday’s game any less attended. Three times this season Texas A&M has had more than 100,000 fans at Kyle Field despite the local 11 a.m. kickoff time.
The Hurricanes are expecting another 100,000-plus fans Saturday, too and have been doing their best to prepare for the noise they’re going to face.
“These big games, the atmosphere and the environment is going to be next to none,” said Beck, who is second in the nation with a 74.7 completion percentage. “For us, what that means is focusing in on our preparation. … We’re super excited for this opportunity, super excited for the challenge that this is going to bring towards us. But again, you’ve got to focus on your preparation and continue to work each day and then ultimately, on Saturday, go out and execute.”
Miami enters the matchup knowing it is playing some of its best football of late.
Over the course of the Hurricanes’ last four games, Miami’s offense has averaged 38 points and 450 yards. The Hurricanes also notched road wins at both Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh.
And Miami has also found ways to get freshman wide receiver Malachi Toney even more involved, with the ACC Rookie of the Year not only catching passes, but throwing them and contributing on special teams, too.
Toney enters Saturday’s game having already broken Miami’s freshman receiving record and needs just 30 yards to top the 1,000-yard mark on the season. Beck, meanwhile, has thrown for 3,072 yards and 25 touchdowns and running back Mark Fletcher Jr., who returned to action after missing two games with an injury, has a team-high 685 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns.
That offensive firepower, combined with a top 11 defense that has held opponents to an average of 277.8 yards per game, has helped make Miami a playoff team.
Now, the Hurricanes say, the goal is to keep their season going, one game at a time.
“We always knew what we were capable of as a team and at the end of the day, this is a kid’s game. You’ve got little kids playing this game. It’s simple. Just, people make it hard,” Fletcher said. “At the end of the day, we all have a goal that we want to set and when we just come together as one, I don’t feel like there’s anybody who can stop us.”
Added Bain, “This is what I came here for. … But we’re not finished. I mean, there’s a whole bunch of stuff we still have to do, still have to prove and earn. So, we’re just playing football the way we’re playing, and knowing that we’ve got this opportunity, we’re not going to take it lightly.”
