Tyler Van Dyke Gives Miami an Edge Over Texas A&M
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There are many ways to evaluate a big college football matchup. Breaking down how a team played its last game, yards per play allowed, turnovers, and so on.
For head coach Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes, any game they play should be analyzed first with consideration of how good starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is compared to the opponent's starting signal-caller. In fact, that’s often going to be the biggest advantage for Miami regardless of the team it goes against.
Now in his third season, Van Dyke has almost a full season’s worth of starting experience. During that time, he’s already shown that he is an NFL player in waiting. Not many college football teams have a player as poised at the all-important signal caller position as Miami does.
That’s going to be quite obvious with the upcoming road game against Texas A&M. The Hurricanes have Van Dyke, while the Aggies have Haynes King, a player that’s proven very little at the college level. For comparison, here are the career passing statistics for both players:
Van Dyke: 236/372, 63.4%, 3,387 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
King: 57/90, 63.3%, 820 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions.
Of all these statistics, one stands out above all others: The interception rate.
Van Dyke has been intercepted on 1.9% of his passes. King, meanwhile, has been intercepted 6.7% of the time he throws a pass. That’s a striking contrast and one that changes the outcomes of college football games.
It’s a situation of proven worth and experience versus uncertainty and inexperience. That's a major advantage for the Hurricanes, and that’s why this next game holds promise for Miami. Despite where this next game will be played, it’s the prior game that needs to be analyzed first.
Look, playing at Kyle Field is a daunting task. That won't change when Miami comes out of the tunnel. Neither will the fact that A&M just lost 17-14 to an unranked, Group of 5 Appalachian State team that’s solid, but not exactly a juggernaut.
Against the Aggies, the Mountaineers came up with a grand total of 315 yards, subpar production by college football standards.
King was sacked twice against Appalachian State, and was ineffective for much of the 17-14 loss.
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
It's also 129 more yards than all the talent that A&M possesses came up with. Yes, the Aggies managed a paltry 186 yards offensively against a team that’s not even in the Power 5, including a quarterback rating of 21.3 for King.
The biggest reason the Aggies are struggling is, in fact, the performance of King, who is obviously not ready for the limelight of being an SEC starting quarterback.
While it's common for a college signal-caller to go through growing pains, King does not even appear to be close to being ready to be the starter for the Aggies. Unfortunately for A&M, that also means seeing a diminished total value from the skill players the Aggies have recruited — as most know, there are quite a few, to say the least.
For example, do-it-all athlete Devon Achane averaged seven yards per carry in 2021. With teams stacking the box because of not respecting A&M’s passing game, he’s down to 3.9 yards per tote in 2022. Seeing King’s stat line against Appalachian State further places Achane’s situation into perspective.
King finished the contest 13 of 20, 65%, for 97 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions.
He hit some check-downs and some short passes that helped move the chains. What he did not do was deliver accurate passes in a consistent manner. There were open Aggies that watched the football sail over them, as well as just about any place but where the football needed to be.
There were also several passes where King simply did not throw the football to the right place, nor at the right time.
Those points are reasons why Achane and the Aggies did not run the football effectively. Further, that’s not going to work in head coach Jimbo Fisher’s offense, one that relies heavily on quarterback precision and play-action passing to set up big plays.
Again, this is about the maturation process of a young quarterback and King is still adjusting to the playbook that Fisher has placed before him. Not to mention, he’s adjusting to the speed of the college game.
It’s not easy and it generally takes two or three years before a college quarterback is ready to be a starter. King, a redshirt sophomore, is coming off an ACL tear in Game 2 of the 2021 season against Colorado. Keep that in mind. He basically missed 11 games last year.
The A&M offense is just not in that spot right now where it can win because of the quarterback position. Instead, it must win in spite of it. The opposite applies for Miami as its quarterback matured much quicker than King and most other college quarterbacks.
From the outset of the time that Van Dyke began as Miami’s starter, he’s been playing much closer to the level of a veteran than the vast majority of college football quarterbacks taking over for their respective programs.
Back on Sep. 30, 2021, Van Dyke made his first start against a Power 5 opponent when Virginia came to Hard Rock Stadium. He had some struggles and finished 15-of-29, 51.7%, 203 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
He also struggled against North Carolina, his second start. Since that game against the Tar Heels, though, Van Dyke has shown far more accuracy and conviction with when and where he throws the football. Fast forwarding to 2022, Van Dyke’s statistics prove how much he has matured as a college quarterback.
Van Dyke is a combined 34-of-46, 73.9%, 448 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Perhaps just as important, watching Van Dyke on the gridiron shows another valued commodity that’s far superior to the quarterback he’s opposite of during the next game.
Confidence plays a key role with college football quarterbacks. Miami has a confident quarterback in Van Dyke. The Aggies, not so much.
After watching King’s body language against Appalachian State, he’s not confident. Now imagine how King’s starting receivers and tight ends feel. Another major advantage to Miami.
The Hurricanes are not just going to waltz into Kyle Field and hand the Aggies a loss. That’s not realistic. Still, Van Dyke does provide the Hurricanes an edge at the most important position on the gridiron.
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