Miami takes down Texas A&M 10-3 thanks to a late TD and an even later game-sealing interception

Mark Fletcher Jr. and Malachi Toney powered Miami in front of Texas A&M late in the fourth quarter. And then Bryce Fitzgerald sealed the deal.

Fletcher broke the longest run of his career on Miami’s final drive of the game to help set up Toney’s game-winning score with 1:44 to go on third down ahead of Fitzgerald’s game-clinching interception in No. 10 Miami’s 10-3 win over No. 7 Texas A&M in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

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After Texas A&M used its final timeout — and Fletcher had carried the ball five straight times — the Hurricanes put the ball in their hands of their star freshman wide receiver. Toney took a pop pass around the right side for an 11-yard TD and the game’s only TD.

Despite not having any timeouts, the Aggies still had plenty of time to get down the field. They made it across midfield with 90 seconds to go and had a goal-to-go scenario with less than 40 seconds left. But Fitzgerald picked off Marcel Reed for the second time to clinch the win and a trip to the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31 to play No. 2 Ohio State.

It was Reed’s third turnover of the game. He also fumbled in the first half.

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Toney fumbled too. He turned the ball over while fighting for extra yardage in the fourth quarter and gave the Aggies the ball near midfield with the game tied 3-3. But A&M couldn’t do anything with that possession and the Aggies’ punt set up Fletcher to take over.

Fletcher broke a 56-yard run on the first play of the ensuing drive to put the Hurricanes at the Texas A&M 30-yard line and then carried it four more times in a row as Miami immediately tried to run as much time off the clock as possible.

With five yards to go for a first down and A&M expecting another run from Fletcher, Toney surprised the Aggies’ defense with the TD.

Fletcher finished with 17 carries for 172 yards. He had never rushed for more than 126 yards in a single game until Saturday.

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Kicking woes dominate ugly game

Perhaps it’s a good thing it did not come down to a potential game-winning field goal attempt.

Miami kicker Carter Davis entered the game with just two missed field goals all season long. He missed three on Saturday, as he pushed two kicks wide right in the first half and hit the left upright in the second half.

Texas A&M was not immune to the struggles, either. Backup kicker Jared Zirkel had a 22-yard field goal blocked in the first half. Randy Bond — who had been extremely reliable over the last three seasons — had been benched in favor of Zirkel after missing seven of his 18 field goal attempts this season. But it was Bond who took the field to tie the game at 3-3 with 8:03 to go.

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Heck, Miami didn’t score on Davis’ 21-yard field goal until there was 10:34 to go in the third quarter. It was the first scoreless first half in College Football Playoff history and the combined total of 13 makes for the lowest-scoring CFP game ever since the four-team format was introduced at the end of the 2014 season.

A&M ends the season with two straight losses

It’s another brutal end to the season for the Aggies. Texas A&M won its first 11 games and was ranked No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings entering their regular-season finale against Texas.

But the Longhorns beat the Aggies for the second straight season and denied them a trip to the SEC title game again. That loss also ensured A&M wouldn’t get a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.

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A season ago, A&M harbored playoff hopes entering November too. But the Aggies lost three of their last four regular season games and then lost the Las Vegas Bowl to USC to finish 8-5.

The Aggies have now clearly shown they can be contenders for much of the season. But figuring out how to end November with wins — especially over Texas — is the next step as coach Mike Elko signed a lucrative contract extension during the team’s undefeated start.