This weekend’s pair of College Football Playoff contests involving Group of 5 teams aren’t expected to be very competitive games. The other 2 — Alabama at Oklahoma and Miami at Texas A&M — have people chomping at the bit.
The Aggies (11-1) are 3.5-point favorites over the Hurricanes (10-2) in the No. 7 vs. No. 10 matchup, according to the latest college football odds. Both Texas A&M and Miami rank top-20 in scoring. The Hurricanes’ defense allows roughly 8 fewer points per game (13.8) than the Aggies’ unit (21.9). But in what should be a tight, back-and-forth affair, David Pollack is giving the edge to Texas A&M.
“[This game is a] coin flip,” Pollack said on his See Ball Get Ball podcast. “But Texas A&M’s at home. And that matters to me, so I’ll take A&M… [the Aggies] get to use the crowd to their advantage.”
Pollack also pointed to Marcel Reed’s athleticism as reason for the Aggies to beat the Hurricanes. He believes Reed avoiding Miam’s intense pass rush and creating big plays through the air — as opposed to racking up rushing yards — will enable Texas A&M to win.
“Marcel Reed’s ability to… extend plays, scramble and throw… to dodge [Akheem] Mesidor, dodge [Reuben] Bain [Jr.] and make a play down the field, is the difference in the game,” Pollack said.
The Hurricanes enter play on a 4-game winning streak with a margin of victory of at least 17 points in each of those affairs. The Aggies lost to the rival Texas Longhorns in their regular season finale to miss out on an undefeated regular season and SEC Championship game appearance. Miami has the momentum, but Texas A&M has the friendly confines.
Kickoff between the Hurricanes and Aggies is set for 12:00 p.m. E.T. on Saturday, Dec. 20 (ABC).
