Seemingly everything is untrodden territory at this stage of the season. Not only will this be the Miami Hurricanes' first foray into the College Football Playoff, but this is only the second tournament in the 12-team format. No. 10 Miami will be getting 3.5 points on the road at the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday. In what could be the best game of the weekend, Miami should have a real shot at the upset.
This is because the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide did what no other visiting team has done in the 12-team College Football Playoff before. They overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners in a rematch from earlier in the season by 10 points, 34-24. Yes, Oklahoma put forth some of the worst special teams in a playoff game to date, but Alabama just showed you can be road warriors.
As for Miami, the Hurricanes will have a tremendous opportunity to be everyone's spoiler this postseason. It is not out of the realm of possibility that they can get the best of Texas A&M on Saturday, and then stun No. 2-seeded Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve. That could potentially set up a national semifinals date with the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs over in the Fiesta Bowl.
Simply put, what Alabama did on Friday night now paves a pathway forward for Miami to beat A&M.
Miami can take a page out of the Alabama playoff to defeat Texas A&M
Perhaps the best thing Miami has going for it is the playoff provides a new clean slate for them. Yes, every team coming in has injuries they must overcome. That being said, it is a new season, better yet, the postseason, one where Miami can show off to everyone why the Hurricanes looked like the best team in the country through September. They have the talent, and maybe the coaching, to advance...
What needs to happen for Miami to pull off this slight road upset of the Aggies is for Carson Beck and the offense to take care of the football, as well as for Mario Cristobal and his staff to not let Mike Elko's team Jedi mind trick them into doing something dumb within the field of play. From a pure talent perspective, the Aggies and the Hurricanes have the rosters to potentially run this gauntlet.
Overall, all it takes is one for a narrative to change. So leave it up to Alabama to buck the trend of visiting teams always losing in their first-round games. Last season saw Tennessee, Indiana, SMU, and Clemson all fall to Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, and Texas in their respective first-round games. The home teams were 4-0 ... up until last night... Can Miami make it a 4-2 mark with a win here?
For now, Miami poses a major threat as arguably the most terrifying under-seeded team in the field.