The Rueben Bain Jr. Payback Tour Has at Least One More Stop

Bain and the rest of the Miami defensive front are still using Texas A&M comments to fuel them.

Dec 20, 2025; College Station, TX, USA; Miami Hurricanes defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. (4) sacks Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

After Miami's win over Texas A&M on Saturday, Rueben Bain Jr. commented that the A&M offensive line was "writing checks [it] couldn't cash."

Earlier in the week, an A&M offensive lineman said that he and the Aggies "didn't see Bain as much of a threat." Bain had three sacks in the game against A&M and turned in one of his most dominant performances to date as a Hurricane.

Texas A&M’s OL says they don’t see Rueben Bain as a threat pic.twitter.com/d27GhtAGkY

— art (@canefilms) December 8, 2025

Sidenote: While you can't help but tip your hat to the confidence it takes to be a solid offensive line in college football, not thinking Bain is much of a threat that anyone needs to worry about is the biggest tell that someone most definitely isn't watching film.

Bain kept a screenshot of this exact video as his phone background the entire week, and channeled that energy into a game that will undoubtedly see him skyrocket up draft boards come this Spring.

The knock on Bain has always been his build. He doesn't look like the prototypical pass rusher one might think of if they were to build out an ideal NFL Edge rusher. However, where Bain makes up for it is his physicality.

He may not have the arm length that scouts typically like to see. He may not have the body type that NFL GMs dream of when drafting a highly-touted edge rusher. But what he does have is an immense feel for the game and a motor that simply doesn't take plays off.

All of that is well and good, but with at least one stop left on the Rueben Bain Jr. payback tour, how well does he stack up against the next opponent?

Ohio State's Offensive Line Won't Sleep on Bain and Company

The Athletic ranked the OSU offensive line as one of the top-three in the country at the end of the regular season, partly due to the group's low sack rating and offensive consistency. Despite a mid-season offensive lull that saw some true Big 10 final scores, the Buckeye offensive line has been a consistent group that the team feels it can lean on at any moment.

Couple that with the fact that OSU has some of the best skill position players that Miami will have seen up to this point in the year, and you have a recipe for a knock-down drag-out in the Cotton Bown on December 31.

If anything is predictable here, though, it's that Bain will be game-planned for this week. He was left to his own devices far too often for any offense's liking against A&M, and I would be shocked if the same is true for OSU. However, with the attention on Bain, Akeem Mesidor, who registered 1.5 sacks of his own against A&M, should be freed up on the opposite side of the pass rush to cause issues.

Miami has the best 1-2 punch in the nation when it comes to rushing the passer, and if defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman gets as creative against OSU as he did A&M in disguising his pass rush, the two edge rushers should be able to pressure Julian Sayin more than any duo this season.