Analyst Believes There Is One Player to Blame For Texas A&M Loss to Miami

The man in College Station, Texas, can be considered the quarterback of the Texas A&M Aggies. It is currently sophomore Marcel Reed.

With the historic 11-0 start by Texas A&M, Reed was obviously one of the main catalysts. He is a great talent, and many believe that he is indeed the answer at the quarterback position.

After the devastating 10-3 loss against No. 10 Miami in the first round of the College Football Playoff at Kyle Field, there have been plenty of questions about what went wrong. The offense put up only three points at home in the first-ever CFP game in Texas A&M history.

Reed, as the leader of the offense, has many critics breaking down his performance.

Aggies Got Outplayed at QB

Marcel Reed Texas A&M Aggies — Dec 20, 2025; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) runs with the ball during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Joel Klatt, the color commentator and college football analyst at Fox Sports, made his thoughts known about the quarterback matchup in the Miami vs. A&M game. In his preview of the game, Klatt had circled the Carson Beck vs. Marcel Reed battle.

With the Hurricanes ultimately winning an ugly offensive game, Klatt believes the quarterback who played the cleaner game was better. That was Beck in his eyes.

Klatt was a record-setting quarterback at Colorado during his collegiate time, so he obviously knows what he’s talking about. Beck’s final numbers were 14/20 (70%) for just 103 yards and one touchdown, one of his worst games of the season according to the stats.

His TD pass was also just a shovel to Malachi Toney. Meanwhile, Reed threw for 237 yards on 25/39 (64%) passing and was also the team’s leading rusher with 27 yards on 15 carries.

The key difference was turnovers. Reed threw two interceptions and also lost a fumble. Beck did not try to do anything crazy and had no turnovers. Both defenses played well, but Beck was smart with the football. Reed’s first fumble cost a field goal attempt, and his last interception ended the game on a throw that was behind the receiver.

“Beck played better than Reed, and now Miami moves forward,” said Klatt. In his words, Beck protected the football and played clean, “because he played within the details of the offense.” He characterized Reed’s performance as “a lack of detail” and that he “just didn’t execute.”

Klatt’s prediction for the game ended up being wrong as he initially thought Beck would be the one to make mistakes on the road. It was the opposite. Another key point is that Reed practically received no support on offense from his running game.

Reed’s 27 yards was the highest mark for the Aggies, who only managed 89 rushing yards total. Compare that to 175 on the ground for the Hurricanes, with Mark Fletcher Jr. wreaking havoc with 172 yards on 17 carries for over 10 yards a pop.

Beck received more support, but didn’t make a bad mistake. Ultimately, that is what the game can come down to.

“What I also thought was interesting in this game is that I felt like the better quarterback won the game,” Klatt said. “And yet, Marcel Reed’s numbers outside of the two interceptions would suggest that he played better than Carson Beck, because Beck’s numbers weren’t great. They really weren’t. And yet, Beck played winning football, and Reed didn’t. And that’s really the bottom line.”