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Miami's Rueben Bain Jr. Got Last Laugh in CFP Win After Texas A&M 'Disrespect'

One Aggies player's comment seemed to light a fire under Bain, who dominated Texas A&M in Miami's first-round win.

Tim Capurso

Bain (#4) sacked Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed three times in the Hurricanes' win.
Bain (#4) sacked Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed three times in the Hurricanes' win. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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Miami defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. put together a performance for the ages in the Hurricanes' 10-3 victory over Texas A&M in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday. And Bain, who had three sacks and a blocked field goal, may have been sparked by a comment made from a Texas A&M player in the lead-up to the game.

Texas A&M player said he didn't think Bain would be “a threat” for Aggies to worry about “too much”

Shortly after learning that Texas A&M had secured the No. 7 seed in the final College Fotoball Playoff rankings and would be playing Miami, Aggies senior offensive lineman Trey Zuhn was asked what he thought would be the key to stopping Bain, who has garnered consideration as a potential top-10 pick in the 2026 NFL draft, in the first-round matchup.

“I haven't had the time to watch any film yet since it just got announced, but I don't think he'll be a threat that we need to worry about too much,” Zuhn said. “We have great players. We got a great offensive line, so we'll be able to handle him.”

Bain, when asked about Zuhn's comment, didn't have much to say.

“God bless those guys,” Bain said. “They’re just playing football the way they play it.”

But Bain's play on Saturday made it clear that he was playing with extra fuel in the tank.

Bain responds to Texas A&M comments on and off the field in CFP win

Simply put, Bain was everywhere on Saturday, wrecking the game to the tune of four tackles for loss, three sacks and a blocked field goal. Bain's blocked field goal, a 22-yard attempt from Aggies kicker Jared Zirkel in the second quarter, kept the game scoreless while all three of his sacks came in the fourth quarter when the Hurricanes were still clinging to a 3-0 lead.

After the Hurricanes' victory was sealed when Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed was intercepted in the end zone by Miami safety Bryce Fitzgerald, Bain made sure everyone knew he got the last laugh.

First, he had something to say while he was still on the field in the aftermath of the contest, poking fun at the Aggies' rally cry.

Then, Bain, on Instagram Live from the Hurricanes' locker room, had a profanity-laced message for the Aggies.

Finally, it was time for the Hurricanes to take to the podium for a postgame news conference, in which Bain got the last word in.

“Well first, like I said before, I don't take kindly to disrespect,” Bain said, according to Gaby Urrutia of 247 Sports. “I had my little reminder on my phone. So all two weeks, the last two weeks, I was ready to play some football. Some guys in the media said some things they shouldn't have said ... They wrote checks they can't cash.”

Miami moves on to face the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes in the quarterfinal of the playoff on New Year's Eve.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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