Jimbo Fisher says Texas A&M must get more pressure on Tyler Van Dyke

Texas A&M trails Miami after Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke led a touchdown drive to close out the final seconds of the first half. Miami marched 75 yards down the field in just 44 seconds to take a 21-17 lead over the No. 23 Aggies into the locker room.

Van Dyke made a couple of long completions along the way before finding Jacolby George for an 11-yard touchdown with 13 seconds remaining in the half. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher spoke with ESPN’s Katie George at halftime, expressing his disappointment for the lack of pressure the Aggies defense got on Van Dyke during that drive.

“I think we’ve got to affect the quarterback,” he said. “We’re playing the run pretty well. They popped one in the two-minute, but we’re not affecting the quarterback enough and getting enough pressure on him. He’s getting comfortable and they’re making throws down the field.”

Van Dyke finished the first half 13-of-17 passing for 235 yards and three touchdowns. He’s so far completed six passes for 15 or more yards, including a 52-yard touchdown to Isaiah Horton earlier in the second quarter. He also had a 48-yard completion to Xavier Restrepo on just his second pass attempt of the afternoon.

A&M scored on three of its first four drives of the game to take a 17-7 lead early in the second quarter. However, it also made its fair share of mistakes with a fumble in the first quarter and a missed field goal on the drive prior to Miami’s go-ahead touchdown.

The Aggies failed to come up with a score on either of their final two drives of the half.

“We didn’t finish some drives right there,” Fisher said. “We had a chance on a screen play and we missed a field goal. Could’ve been a big swing in the game right there. We’ve got to finish out drives, keep our run game going, keep our offense balanced and we’ll be all right.”

Texas A&M totaled just 148 total yards in the first half compared to 276 for Miami. Quarterback Conner Weigman is 10-of-17 passing for 76 yards while also adding 24 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground.

The Aggies will hope to get the offense going coming out of halftime as they are set to receiver the ball to start the second half. Even despite a few errors to end the second quarter, the game is still well within reach.