COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Malachi Toney’s tiebreaking 11-yard touchdown reception with less than two minutes left lifted No. 10 seed Miami to a 10-3 win over No. 7 Texas A&M on Saturday in the College Football Playoff.
Mark Fletcher Jr. had a career-high 172 yards rushing to help the Hurricanes (11-2) advance to the Cotton Bowl to face No. 2 seed Ohio State on Dec. 31.
Toney’s big play came a series after what looked a devastating mistake for the freshman. Toney made a reception, but Dalton Brooks knocked the ball out and Daymion Sanford recovered it on the Texas A&M 47 with about seven minutes to go. Teammates surrounded a visibly upset Toney on the bench, encouraging him and trying to keep him positive.
He and Miami’s offense got another chance when Rueben Bain Jr. sacked Marcel Reed on two of three plays on the ensuing drive to force a punt.
A career-long 56-yard run by Fletcher on the first play of the next drive got the Hurricanes to the Texas A&M 30 with about three minutes to go. Miami used four more runs by Fletcher to get into scoring position before Toney took the short toss from Carson Beck and dashed into the end zone.
The Aggies had a chance to tie it after that, but Bryce Fitzgerald intercepted Reed for the second time — this time in the end zone — to end it.
The Hurricanes used a suffocating defensive performance to stifle Texas A&M’s powerful offense, which entered the game averaging 36.3 points a game. They harassed Reed into a mistake-filled performance that included a first-quarter fumble along with the interceptions. They sacked him seven times and flushed him out of the pocket and forced him to try to make tough throws again and again.
He was 25 of 39 for 257 yards but was unable to get the Aggies in the end zone for the first time this season.
After getting the last at-large bid in the playoff over Notre Dame, the Hurricanes now move on, with a chance to win their first national championship since 2001 in their first appearance in the CFP.
Carter Davis missed three field goals in gusty win after missing only two before Saturday. His 21-yard kick early in the third quarter got the Canes on the board after the first scoreless first half in CFP history.
It’s a disappointing playoff debut for Texas A&M (11-2), which lost to rival Texas in its regular-season finale after opening the season with 11 straight wins.
Beck, in his first season at Miami after a transfer from Georgia, was 14 of 20 for a season-low 103 yards.
Facing a second-and-18 from his own 8, Reed made consecutive throws to Ashton Bethel-Roman for 15 and 13 yards. On third-and-10 later in the drive, he connected with Bethel-Roman again on a pass that was just enough for the first down and found Mario Craver for a 12-yard gain on the next play.
The drive stalled after that, but Randy Bond tied it with a 35-yard field goal with about eight minutes to go.
The Hurricanes opened the second half with a nine-play, 72-yard drive capped by a 21-yard field goal to make it 3-0. Keelan Marion had a 20-yard reception on that drive and Fletcher added a 24-yard run on third-and-4 to keep it alive.
Fitzgerald intercepted Reed and returned it 36 yards to the A&M 20. The ‘Canes came up empty after the turnover when a 35-yard field goal attempt by Davis bounced off the left upright.
Reed fumbled late in the first quarter, but the Hurricanes were unable to cash in on the miscue. A 59-yard reception by Mario Craver got the Aggies to the 11-yard line early in the second. But they couldn’t move the ball and attempted a 22-yard field goal, which was blocked by Bain. It was Miami’s first blocked field goal since the season opener against Bethune-Cookman in 2022.
Toney’s 55-yard punt return got the Hurricanes to the 25 with about six minutes left in the second quarter. He would have scored if not for a shoestring tackle by Marcus Ratcliffe. But Dalton Brooks sacked Beck on third down to force a 47-yard field goal attempt by Davis, which sailed wide right.
Punter Tyler White’s throw on a fake punt sailed just out of reach of a diving Marcus Ratcliffe to give Miami the ball on the Texas A&M 46 with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. Davis tried a field goal from 40 as time expired in the first half, but it was wide right again.
