‘It’s big-boy ball’: Hurricanes defense ready to face Bobby Petrino and Aggies’ new-look offense

Perhaps the biggest task in front of the Hurricanes this week will be slowing down Texas A&M's new-look offense under first-year offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.

When Miami and Texas A&M faced off in College Station, Texas, last year, both teams struggled on offense. The Hurricanes failed to score a touchdown, and the Aggies put up just 17 points in their win.

Both teams will look vastly different when they play a rematch at Hard Rock Stadium at 3:30 on Saturday.

“This week presents a whole different challenge,” defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said. “It’s big-boy ball this week.”

The No. 23 Aggies struggled to put points on the board last year. They averaged 22.8 points per game, which was 101st in the nation. In response, head coach Jimbo Fisher hired former Louisville and Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator, turning over play-calling duties to the new assistant coach.

“(Petrino has) a lot of years of great offenses, right?” UM coach Mario Cristobal said. “He’s done it every way imaginable, right? He knows how to use his pieces. He’s got some really good pieces over there.”

In his most recent tenure with the Cardinals, Petrino had offenses led by Heisman-winning quarterback (and South Florida native) Lamar Jackson that ended up sixth and 11th in the nation in 2016 and 2017, respectively. However, Louisville was ranked 122nd nationally in his final season as the Cardinals’ coach.

With Petrino calling plays, Texas A&M rolled through New Mexico in its first game of the season, scoring 52 points — more than they scored in any game last year.

“He’s experienced. He’s been a lot of places, seen a lot of things,” Guidry said. “I think he’s evolved as a play-caller over the years. He’s not stuck in his ways, so to say. I think he’s a student of the game, and he’s been successful wherever he’s been. A lot of respect to him. A really good football coach.”

Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman led the way last week. The sophomore signal-caller, who was a five-star prospect coming out of high school, played in five games last year but did not see the field against Miami. He threw eight touchdowns and no interceptions last season.

In Week 1, Weigman completed 18 of 23 passes for 236 yards and five touchdowns.

“(Weigman is) athletic, can run, kind of runs like a wide receiver a little bit, like an X receiver,” Guidry said. “He’s big, got a talented arm, great release. Looks like a five-star.”

Weigman has plenty of talent in his own right, but the Aggies’ wide receivers make Texas A&M dangerous through the air. Former five-star wide receiver Evan Stewart led the team with 115 receiving yards in the season-opening win, scoring a pair of touchdowns. Sophomore Noah Thomas scored three touchdowns in the win. Returning wide receivers Ainias Smith and Moose Muhammad III are also threats in the passing game.

Miami’s cornerbacks played well in their win over Miami (Ohio) in Week 1, and UM earned a 66.5 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. But Texas A&M brings a much more significant challenge.

“That’s why you play the game,” Guidry said. “You don’t know how your guys are going to play until you get out there. You’ve got to give them the best information you can and know what to expect. But sometimes when you get in the game, people start throwing a lot of different wrinkles and it becomes one-on-one. We’ll fight them. We’ll fight them. And if I can get a 12th man on the field, I will.”

Thomas poses his own unique threat, as he is listed at 6-6. The Hurricanes do not have a cornerback taller than 6-2.

“We’re going to have to do a good job of defending those big guys with smaller guys sometimes,” Guidry said. “It’s just the way it is. We’ll have to get pressure on the quarterback, of course, and we’ll have to predict when they are going to go deep and maybe mix up some coverage-type things to try to help ourselves out.”

Hurricanes All-American safety Kamren Kinchens said he noticed while reviewing film that the Aggies are more than happy to throw the ball, regardless of where they are on the field.

“(They) take a lot of shots,” Kinchens said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s in the red zone, midfield or if they’re backed up. They’re taking a lot of shots, going against the DBs.”

If the Hurricanes can hold the Aggies’ passing game in check and pull off a win against a ranked team at home, it would set the tone for 2023. It would show that Miami has turned things around after its disappointing seven-loss season where the year’s first defeat came at the hands of Texas A&M.

“We all know the opportunity that, again, is in front of us,” Cristobal said. “And our guys, they’re really excited to play.”