Aggies Open As Favorites Over Miami In First Round of College Football Playoff

The Texas A&M Aggies open as the favorites over the Miami Hurricanes in the opening round of the College Football Playoff

Nov 22, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko on the field in the second half of a game against the Samford Bulldogs at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Buvid-Imagn Images | Joseph Buvid-Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff is officially here and the Texas A&M Aggies earned the seven seed after finishing the regular season with one loss. Despite arguably better resumes than the team above them, they will host the Miami Hurricanes in College Station for the opening round.

With the Hurricanes jumping the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the anticipated opponent for the Aggies, Mike Elko and his team open as 4.5 point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook over their ACC opponent. With one of the toughest paths on the bracket, the Aggies are expected to advance to the quarterfinals.

With two weeks to prepare, and the comfort of playing in front of the 12th man, the Aggies should feel comfortable about their opening round matchup.

Common Opponent

Nov 29, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck (11) warms up before the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Aggies and the Hurricanes have only matched up five times prior to their impending opening round game, with the teams splitting their most recent two meetings in 2022 and 2023. For the Aggies, they took care of them when they met in College Station in 2022, winning 17-9, nearly matching the opening spread for their upcoming game.

The Hurricanes have been a polarizing team this year. They opened the season beating the Fighting Irish at home, and continued their winning streak after handling their in-state rivals, the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles. After earning an AP Poll ranking of two, though, they would suffer their first loss of the year against Louisville. Another loss a few weeks later to SMU would drop them all the way to 15, and would leave them out of the ACC Championship.

The Aggies are nearly a similar story. They also beat the Fighting Irish, but that win was in South Bend during the second week of the season. They would continue winning out as well, climbing as high as being ranked third in the country, but a loss to their bitter rivals, the Texas Longhorns, in the final week of the regular season held them off from competing in their conference championship.

Now the two teams prepare to meet with everything on the line in a clash between two Power Four conferences, and the Aggies open with the slight edge as the favorites. While two teams may be evenly matched, the Hurricanes haven't played anywhere close to the environment of Kyle Field this year, and it could make for a tough adjustment period for Mario Cristobal and his team.

The Aggies will host the Hurricanes on Dec. 20 at 11 a.m. CT