In Part 2 of the 2023 Miami Hurricanes Opponent Preview Series, I will preview the Texas A&M Aggies, our opponent at Hard Rock Stadium on September 9th at 3:30 pm ET on ABC/ESPN.

You can forgive those over in College Station for panicking. The program is well-prepared for the new college football landscape. The program is not bound by anything. The head coach, Jimbo Fisher, is an excellent recruiter and a National Championship coach (winning in 2013 in Tallahassee with FSU). There should be no problems with zero opportunities and recruiting talent through the portal. All of this should be enough to become what Georgia is currently. Instead, the impressive recruiting classes of the past few years have been somewhat mediocre, some have flunked through the portal and some are just starting to emerge. And therein lies the rub in Aggieland.

It's been a long time since the Aggies have had a double-digit winning season, and since Kevin Sumlin's last 11-win season in 2012, 7 other schools in the state (Houston, Rice, Texas, San Antonio, TCU, SMU, and Baylor) that have had more double-digit winning seasons than the Aggies. So it's no surprise that fans are a bit skeptical that things are going to get better for the Aggies after all the hype surrounding the 2020 season and the top-six rankings.

It's been a long time since the Aggies have had a double-digit winning season, and since Kevin Sumlin's last 11-win season in 2012, 7 other schools in the state (Houston, Rice, Texas, San Antonio, TCU, SMU, and Baylor) that have had more double-digit winning seasons than the Aggies. So it's no surprise that fans are a bit skeptical that things are going to get better for the Aggies after all the hype surrounding the 2020 season and the top-six rankings

The offense will be much better, but the Aggies will need a lot more out of the Defense.

Yes, the Aggies were No. 1 against the pass in the nation, but that was because teams that could throw couldn’t get away from the ground assaults that ripped through the defense at will against SEC’s second-worse run defense. They lost their identity, killed time of possession, and blew the season – more on that in a second.

Their defensive front, which was expected to be a formidable unit after a couple of impressive recruiting classes, must begin to pay dividends, at least from the players who remain. DT Walter Nolen was one of the star recruits who showed promise last season, while Shemar Turner and Fadil Diggs are both developing into their respective roles. While there may not be any new starters on their front six, the secondary has landed some impressive players, particularly at the Cornerback position. Tony Grimes from North Carolina and Josh DeBerry from Boston College are both projected starters in the NFL, while Sam McCall from Florida State is a highly regarded prospect who made his debut last season. The veteran of that secondary, S Demani Richardson is not the most talented player on the team, but he has made a lot of plays in his career with 245 stops and two touchdowns, leading a good group that must have made too many tackles last year.

Their linebacking unit features a variety of contributors. Chris Russell is expected to remain one of the team's top tacklers, while Edgerrin Cooper excels at penetrating the opponent’s offensive line. These two will need to be at their best with several young and inexperienced players vying for playing time.

From a Canes perspective, revenge will be on their minds from last year in College Station, in a game, I really believe the Canes should have won. This year at Hard Rock, this is one of the four games I have as a 50-50 toss-up. If this is the year the Canes take that next step, it needs to win this game. It’ll be close, but in the end, I’m going to say Canes in a very tight game and the defense comes up huge late to make a play to seal the win.

In Part 3 of the series, I will preview the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.