After a convincing 30-7 win over Southern Miss, the Canes will travel to Kyle Field and face the 1-1 Aggies that just lost 17-14 to App State in what may be one of the bigger upsets in the past couple of years. Miami will enter what is expected to be a full stadium that includes 102,733 seats. The game will begin at 9:00 pm EST.

Key Note:

Just a couple of days before the day of the game, Canes star wide receiver, Xavier Restrepo suffered a foot injury which will keep him sidelined indefinitely. According to ESPN, Restrepo will return this season for the Canes, but will not be available for the next couple of games at least. He has been the Canes top wideout this season with 11 receptions, 172 yards, 1 Touchdown, and 15.6 average yards.

Miami will need to rely on other wideouts like Jacolby George, Micahel Redding III, and Brashard Smith who have all earned a decent amount of playing time in the past two weeks.

Miami’s run game will also be a fundamental part of their game plan this week with Restrepo

out. Miami will rely on Henry Parish, who has 217 yards and 4 touchdowns in 37 attempts. Freshman Terrell Walden II will also be getting some touches as he has 41 yards and 1 touchdown in 5 attempts. Finally, Donald Chaney Jr. will be earning touches as well. Today’s game against the Aggies will see a lot of new faces stepping up in the big absence that will be felt without the lights of Xavier Restrepo, but a lot of these guys have been a key piece in the 2-0 start for the Hurricanes which they hope to continue tonight in Kyle Field.

Quarterback matchup:

After the loss to Appalachian State, the Aggies have decided to roll with Junior, Max Johnson after a game where last week's QB, Haynes King passed for just under 100 yards, didn’t throw for a touchdown, and 20/31.

Max Johnson had some action in the first week of the season but didn’t play a big role in the 31-0 victory against the Sam Houston Bearkats. He went 3/4,23 Yards and had no touchdowns in that performance. Johnson will face a Miami defense that has had four interceptions, five sacks, two forced recoveries, and one touchdown this season in only two games of play.

For the Miami side, they will have as usual Tyler Van Dyke under center. He had a solid game last weekend against Southern Miss as he went 20/29 (69.0% completion rate), 261 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception, and four sacks. He described the second game of the season as “Not A Perfect Game”, but should be much improved hopefully tonight against an Aggies team that although lost to App State, they were able to shut down the Bearkats in week one.

Miami also has a very talented backup QB in freshman, Jake Garcia who has seen action in the first two games of the season. He has had perfect completion percentages in both games but has not had himself a passing touchdown yet this season. If we see the Hurricanes up by a very wide margin, there may be a chance to see freshman Jake Garcia enter the game in garbage time.

Final Notes and Player Of The Game Pick:

The Texas A&M Aggies are the 24th ranked team in the country while the Miami Hurricanes are the 13th ranked in the country at the moment. A win over the Aggies will most certainly move up the Canes a spot or two in the ranking, but a loss can move them down a spot or two as they would be upset against the lower-ranked team.

The Player of the game in tonight’s matchup will be Henry Parish Jr. With Xavier Restrepo out I expect the offense to shift more towards the run game, which is the main style of offense that Mario Cristobal is used to running as his bread and butter. The wideouts will be used in crucial situations. There isn’t much concern in the passing game either as the Aggies only have one interception on the season, but four sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. If I had to pick a wide receiver it would most likely be Michael Redding II who would be tonight’s wide receiver one as he has the second most yards on the team and a touchdown as well.