College Football Playoff – Miami vs Texas A&M Opening Odds & Prediction

• The Texas A&M Aggies are 3.5-point favorites over the Miami Hurricanes in the CFP First Round
• The Aggies finished 11-1 on the year and went 7-1 in SEC play
• Read below for early Miami vs Texas A&M betting line, preview, prediction and pick

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After surviving Selection Sunday, the 10th-seeded Miami Hurricanes (10-2, 3rd in ACC) will play the Texas A&M Aggies (11-1, T-1st in SEC) in the College Football Playoff First Round.

On the bubble leading up to the final CFP rankings, Miami is the lone representative out of the ACC, and finds itself as the betting underdog for this one in the opening college football odds.

This one kicks off on Friday, December 20 at 12 pm ET from Kyle Field in College Station, TX, with ABC and ESPN carrying the broadcast.

See below for the odds, preview and my early Miami vs Texas A&M betting prediction.

Miami vs Texas A&M Odds

Texas A&M opens as 3.5-point favorites, and a short -184 on the moneyline. Miami is getting +152 odds to win outright, and the total sits at 51.5 points.

Odds as of December 7 at 6pm ET. Be sure to check out the best FanDuel promo code before placing a bet on any Week 15 College Football Playoff matchup.

Miami vs Texas A&M Matchup

The Aggies’ perfect season came to a crashing halt at the hands of the Texas Longhorns, dropping a 27-17 decision to knock them out of the SEC Championship.

Still, Texas A&M did plenty to earn its way into an at-large bid for the CFP. They feature an offense that scores 36.3 points per game, which ranks 12th in college football. They were equally adept at breaking down defenses via the run (192.7 yards per game) and the pass (261.8), both of which ranked in the nation’s Top 30.

Defensively, they are best against the pass, allowing just 182.8 yards per game, but they were tied for ninth in the SEC in points allowed at 21.9.

The Aggies went 3-1 against ranked teams, winning all three on the road, including wins over Notre Dame, LSU and Missouri.

Miami had a little bit more sweating out to do, as they failed to qualify for the ACC title game, and their body of work looked a little shaky. They lost to unranked SMU and Louisville, while what appeared to be quality (and ranked teams) like South Florida and Florida State cratered as those teams whimpered out of the national picture.

The CFP selection committee gives them new life, and they happen to match up well with Texas A&M. Miami’s offense ranks 24th in yards, while the Aggies rank 25th in yards allowed.

Texas A&M’s passing defense can be tested by Miami, which averaged 275 yards per game through the air, which was 16th-best in college football.

Miami might also have the advantage at quarterback. And while Carson Beck was only a backup to Stetson Bennett on a Georgia national championship, the senior pivot shouldn’t be shaken at the stage, which will be the first time A&M QB Marcel Reed steps onto a national tournament stage.

The Hurricanes’ defense is also legit, allowing just 13.8 points per game (6th). They were 14th in yards allowed, and absolutely stuffed the run, allowing just 86.8 yards per game, a Top-7 mark in college football. They’re also inside the Top 40 in passing yards allowed.

Early Miami vs Texas A&M Prediction

Perhaps we’re underplaying just how dead in the water Miami was believed to be heading into Sunday. Notre Dame had -1100 odds to make the field, and Alabama was at -300, and the Hurricanes were a distant +140.

But now that they’re here, they absolutely can advance in this favorable matchup.

Texas A&M hasn’t even faced a Top 5 defense in the SEC, but Texas (sixth in scoring defense) and Auburn (eighth), are the teams that gave them the most trouble this year, and also resulted in by far their lowest scoring outputs: a 16-10 win over Auburn and 17 points in the loss to the Longhorns.

Miami already has the passing offense to go toe-to-toe in a shootout, if necessary, but they have also blanketed some pretty high-end competition.

They held Notre Dame to 24 points in Week 1, limited then-18th South Florida to 12 points, then 18th FSU to 18 points, and absolutely laid the wood to Pitt in their regular-season finale, a crushing 38-7 win.

The Aggies are a perfect 7-0 at home this season, but they’re far from a sure bet, going just 2-5-0 against the spread. To be fair, four of those ATS losses were as massive double-digit favorites.

That being said, Miami has the team that can actually hit the road and come away victorious, which is what you need if you’re going to take the underdog to cover in big games.