Bryce Fitzgerald scanned the field and immediately took note.
He’d spent hours studying Texas A&M’s offense and this formation, the one the Aggies were lined up on with the game on the line, wasn’t one he’d seen from them very often.
Fitzgerald – a freshman who had played in all of 12 college games before this crucial moment – immediately adjusted.
“I saw a formation that they normally don’t run, so I knew something was coming up,” the safety said. “I told my linebacker, ‘Just stay right here. I’m going to play his outside shoulder,’ and as soon as he threw it, I just broke on it.”
The ultimate result? With just 27 seconds left in Miami’s College Football Playoff opener and the Hurricanes clinging to a seven-point lead, Fitzgerald intercepted quarterback Marcel Reed in the end zone to seal Miami’s 10-3 win over Texas A&M and send the Hurricanes to a playoff quarterfinal game against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
It was Fitzgerald’s second interception of the day and one of several game-changing plays made by the Hurricanes defense in Miami’s hard-fought win.
The Hurricanes (11-2) totaled seven sacks against the Aggies. They had nine tackles for loss. And they forced three turnovers, with Fitzgerald notching two of those.
Adding to all of that, defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. – who had three of those sacks – made a crucial play on special teams, blocking a Texas A&M field goal in the second quarter.
The Aggies entered Saturday’s game averaging 36.3 points per game.
They managed just three points on a 35-yard field goal against Miami.
It was a masterful defensive performance none of the Hurricanes will be forgetting any time soon, especially given the stakes and some of the struggles Miami endured defensively last year.
In 2024, the Hurricanes allowed an average of 327.2 yards and 25.3 points per game and more than once, those numbers proved costly.
Under the guidance of defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, who joined the Miami staff in January, the Hurricanes have held opponents to an average of 281.5 yards and 13.0 points per game.
“It’s amazing what Coach Hetherman has done for not only the defense, but the program, just turning us around. … The [mindset] he instills in us every day, being excited and being violent,” said Bain, who had five tackles to go along with his three sacks and the blocked field goal. “It’s crazy for us to win this game in this kind of way. … We were just sitting in the locker room talking about that. From the first snap to the last, the defense came to play and that’s the way it’s going to be, especially when you’ve got somebody like Coach Hetherman, somebody like that, coaching us every play. [We’re going to] just come out and give our best.
Added fellow defensive end Akheem Mesidor, “It meant a lot. We were able to prove the world wrong, show the world that we have a talented defense, that the defense is the heart of this team.”
For his part, Mesidor said it didn’t take long to realize Saturday’s game against the Aggies had the potential to be a defensive showdown instead of an offensive shootout – even with some of Texas A&M’s talented offensive playmakers and their gaudy statistics.
“The defense just stayed 10 toes down and kept fighting,” he said.
Bissainthe echoed those sentiments.
“I knew my guys weren’t going to let up,” said Bissainthe, who had seven tackles in the win. “I knew we were going to play the game all 60 minutes and that’s what we did. That’s what we did.”
Miami’s defense, which played a big part in the Hurricanes’ four-game win streak to close out the regular season, also got a boost Saturday with the return of cornerback Keionte Scott, who hadn’t played since injuring his foot in a mid-November win over NC State.
After that game, head coach Mario Cristobal described Scott’s injury as “serious” and “gut-wrenching,” noting the sixth-year redshirt senior would likely miss an extended period of time.
But Miami advancing to the postseason and getting extra time to prepare for the Aggies helped pave the way for Scott to return.
And the veteran made his presence felt.
Scott finished with a game-high 10 tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. After the win, he credited both Miami’s medical staff and his teammates with helping him get back on the field.
“I definitely would say, man, [it was] a lot of controlling what I can control,” Scott said. “At the end of the day … being around my brothers and them pushing me and telling me to keep going and stay focused, and then also previously having to go through an injury in 2023 and just knowing you can only focus on what you can focus on, which was getting better [helped]. I put all my attention to try and focus on getting better and getting healthy.
“I want to give a huge shoutout to our strength staff, our treatment [staff], and our sports science [staff]. They did a lot of things, a lot of exercising within the restraints, to help me get better and I definitely feel better. I’m excited to be back with my guys.”
With one playoff game now behind them, the Hurricanes turn their focus to the next challenge ahead: a matchup with defending national champion Ohio State and the Buckeyes’ high-powered offense.
But after the way they played Saturday – and how they’ve grown over the course of the last year – the Hurricanes say they feel ready for what awaits.
“You’ve got to get back in the lab, take care of your body, and recover,” Bissainthe said. “We know who we’ve got next.”
Said Hetherman, “That defense is connected and now, they want to play for one another. They want to go out and compete every single series. They don’t want to let themselves down. … I think our team is very close and I think that’s why our guys go out and compete the way they do, and I think that’s why we’ve grown and we’ve connected more as a defense since I think what we were back in January.”
He’d spent hours studying Texas A&M’s offense and this formation, the one the Aggies were lined up on with the game on the line, wasn’t one he’d seen from them very often.
Fitzgerald – a freshman who had played in all of 12 college games before this crucial moment – immediately adjusted.
“I saw a formation that they normally don’t run, so I knew something was coming up,” the safety said. “I told my linebacker, ‘Just stay right here. I’m going to play his outside shoulder,’ and as soon as he threw it, I just broke on it.”
The ultimate result? With just 27 seconds left in Miami’s College Football Playoff opener and the Hurricanes clinging to a seven-point lead, Fitzgerald intercepted quarterback Marcel Reed in the end zone to seal Miami’s 10-3 win over Texas A&M and send the Hurricanes to a playoff quarterfinal game against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
It was Fitzgerald’s second interception of the day and one of several game-changing plays made by the Hurricanes defense in Miami’s hard-fought win.
The Hurricanes (11-2) totaled seven sacks against the Aggies. They had nine tackles for loss. And they forced three turnovers, with Fitzgerald notching two of those.
Adding to all of that, defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. – who had three of those sacks – made a crucial play on special teams, blocking a Texas A&M field goal in the second quarter.
The Aggies entered Saturday’s game averaging 36.3 points per game.
They managed just three points on a 35-yard field goal against Miami.
It was a masterful defensive performance none of the Hurricanes will be forgetting any time soon, especially given the stakes and some of the struggles Miami endured defensively last year.
In 2024, the Hurricanes allowed an average of 327.2 yards and 25.3 points per game and more than once, those numbers proved costly.
Under the guidance of defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman, who joined the Miami staff in January, the Hurricanes have held opponents to an average of 281.5 yards and 13.0 points per game.
“It’s amazing what Coach Hetherman has done for not only the defense, but the program, just turning us around. … The [mindset] he instills in us every day, being excited and being violent,” said Bain, who had five tackles to go along with his three sacks and the blocked field goal. “It’s crazy for us to win this game in this kind of way. … We were just sitting in the locker room talking about that. From the first snap to the last, the defense came to play and that’s the way it’s going to be, especially when you’ve got somebody like Coach Hetherman, somebody like that, coaching us every play. [We’re going to] just come out and give our best.
Added fellow defensive end Akheem Mesidor, “It meant a lot. We were able to prove the world wrong, show the world that we have a talented defense, that the defense is the heart of this team.”
For his part, Mesidor said it didn’t take long to realize Saturday’s game against the Aggies had the potential to be a defensive showdown instead of an offensive shootout – even with some of Texas A&M’s talented offensive playmakers and their gaudy statistics.
“The defense just stayed 10 toes down and kept fighting,” he said.
Bissainthe echoed those sentiments.
“I knew my guys weren’t going to let up,” said Bissainthe, who had seven tackles in the win. “I knew we were going to play the game all 60 minutes and that’s what we did. That’s what we did.”
Miami’s defense, which played a big part in the Hurricanes’ four-game win streak to close out the regular season, also got a boost Saturday with the return of cornerback Keionte Scott, who hadn’t played since injuring his foot in a mid-November win over NC State.
After that game, head coach Mario Cristobal described Scott’s injury as “serious” and “gut-wrenching,” noting the sixth-year redshirt senior would likely miss an extended period of time.
But Miami advancing to the postseason and getting extra time to prepare for the Aggies helped pave the way for Scott to return.
And the veteran made his presence felt.
Scott finished with a game-high 10 tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble. After the win, he credited both Miami’s medical staff and his teammates with helping him get back on the field.
“I definitely would say, man, [it was] a lot of controlling what I can control,” Scott said. “At the end of the day … being around my brothers and them pushing me and telling me to keep going and stay focused, and then also previously having to go through an injury in 2023 and just knowing you can only focus on what you can focus on, which was getting better [helped]. I put all my attention to try and focus on getting better and getting healthy.
“I want to give a huge shoutout to our strength staff, our treatment [staff], and our sports science [staff]. They did a lot of things, a lot of exercising within the restraints, to help me get better and I definitely feel better. I’m excited to be back with my guys.”
With one playoff game now behind them, the Hurricanes turn their focus to the next challenge ahead: a matchup with defending national champion Ohio State and the Buckeyes’ high-powered offense.
But after the way they played Saturday – and how they’ve grown over the course of the last year – the Hurricanes say they feel ready for what awaits.
“You’ve got to get back in the lab, take care of your body, and recover,” Bissainthe said. “We know who we’ve got next.”
Said Hetherman, “That defense is connected and now, they want to play for one another. They want to go out and compete every single series. They don’t want to let themselves down. … I think our team is very close and I think that’s why our guys go out and compete the way they do, and I think that’s why we’ve grown and we’ve connected more as a defense since I think what we were back in January.”
