Who will Miami or Texas A&M play next? Explaining the 2025 CFP bracket opponent for Round 2 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Both the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes and No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies enter Saturday’s first-round College Football Playoff matchup with national championship expectations. The winner will advance to face the defending national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
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In 2024, Ohio State capped the first year of the 12-team playoff with a 34-23 win over Notre Dame en route to the ninth national championship in program history. In 2025, the Buckeyes are right back in the thick of it. Ryan Day’s No. 2 Ohio State squad awaits the winner of this high-octane matchup.
The stakes could not be higher for the victor of the Hurricanes-Aggies contest at Kyle Field. A win sends the team to Dallas, Texas, to face the No. 2 seed Buckeyes in a CFP quarterfinal on New Year’s Eve at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. The immediate leap to a clash with the defending champions guarantees a brutal test against America’s top-ranked defense.
Saturday’s game features two teams making their first-ever College Football Playoff appearances. For Miami, led by veteran coach Mario Cristobal, it is a chance to fully resurrect “The U” on the national stage. For Texas A&M, buoyed by an 11-1 season under coach Mike Elko, it is an opportunity to prove the Aggies belong among the sport’s elite. Whoever prevails will not only advance, but will also punch its ticket to face one of the most formidable programs in the nation on the biggest stage of the season.
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College Football Playoff bracket 2025
MORE: College Football Playoff first round predictions
Who will Miami or Texas A&M play next?
The winner of Miami vs. Texas A&M will advance to play defending champion No. 2 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
Ohio State capped off one of the most dominant regular seasons in recent memory, finishing 12-0 with only the season opener against No. 1 Texas as a one-score game. Ohio State has the best defense in America, ranked No. 1 in scoring — allowing 8.2 points per game — and has not allowed over 16 points in a game. Either Carson Beck or Marcel Reed will have the opportunity to go against this stifling unit, which is anchored by multiple potential first-round NFL talents, including safety Caleb Downs and linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles.
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On offense, the Buckeyes feature Heisman finalist Julian Sayin, who is leading the country in completion percentage — currently eclipsing the all-time NCAA single-season record with a mark of 78.4% — to go along with 3,323 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Ohio State is obviously loaded with skill position talent, including who many think is the best player in college football in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who put up over a thousand receiving yards. If that’s not enough, the Buckeyes have Carnell Tate on the other side, who is viewed as a consensus first-round pick come April, combining to form the most dangerous receiving duo in the nation.
Fortunately for Miami or Texas A&M, Ohio State will be looking to bounce back from its first loss since November of 2024. The Buckeyes lost a low-scoring defensive battle to Indiana, 13-10, in the Big Ten Championship, in a game where a potential game-tying 27-yard field goal was missed late in the fourth quarter. If last season was any indication, Ryan Day’s team is expected to hit another gear now that the postseason is here, with the sting of that championship defeat serving as potent motivation for their quarterfinal matchup.
That’s not to say the Hurricanes or Aggies don’t have the talent to match, with Ruben Bain Jr., Cashius Howell, Malachi Toney, K.C. Concepcion and Mark Fletcher Jr. as just a few names to throw out. But, whoever wins Saturday will enter New Year’s Eve as an underdog with one of college football’s best teams on the other side.
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