Mark Fletcher Jr. ran for a career-high 172 yards — 91 in the fourth quarter — and Malachi Toney scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:44 left to help No. 10 Miami post a 10-3 win over No. 7 Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon in College Station, Texas, in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Fletcher broke off a career-long 56-yard run from the 14-yard line with about four minutes left. He carried the ball on the first five plays of the Miami drive for 75 yards before Toney took a jet sweep around the right corner for an 11-yard rushing score.
The running back accounted for well over half of Miami’s 278 yards of offense. For the Hurricanes (11-2), quarterback Carson Beck completed 14 of 20 passes for a season-low 103 yards and a touchdown.
Texas A&M (11-2) moved down to the Miami 5-yard line on the ensuing drive before Bryce Fitzgerald came away with his second interception of Marcel Reed with 27 seconds left to clinch the victory.
The Hurricanes advance to a CFP quarterfinal matchup with No. 2 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on New Year’s Eve.
Reed completed 25 of 39 passes for 237 yards and the two interceptions, also rushing for a team-high 27 yards. Mario Craver had a game-high 92 receiving yards on seven catches.
After an eventful but scoreless first half — the first in the 12-year history of the College Football Playoff — where Miami was largely outclassed, the Hurricanes broke through with a 21-yard field goal from Carter Davis on the opening drive of the second half to take a 3-0 lead.
Miami had more yards (72) on that drive than it did on six first-half possessions (69).
The Aggies were staring down being shut out at home for the first time since 1971 before Randy Bond got the Aggies on the board with a 35-yard field goal with 8:03 left, paying off a 16-play, 67-yard drive that took 7:30 off the clock.
However, Texas A&M was largely unable to move the ball in the second half, managing 151 yards of offense. Miami’s defense tied season highs with seven sacks and three forced turnovers for the game.
While Texas A&M had far more success moving the ball in the first half, it squandered multiple scoring chances, scoring no points in three first-half trips across midfield. The latter two ended on a strip sack by Keionte Scott and a blocked field goal.
Miami finally took control for the first time after a slow start when Toney broke off a 55-yard punt return to the Aggies’ 25-yard line. However, Davis missed the 47-yard field goal to keep the game scoreless, adding another missed kick from 40 yards on the final play of the half.
That led to just the second scoreless first half in an FBS game this season.
