Can Miami’s Ground Game Hold Up Against Ohio State’s Elite Run Defense?
Miami’s rushing attack found life at just the right time - but now comes the real test.
In their College Football Playoff first-round win over Texas A&M, the Hurricanes turned in one of their most efficient rushing performances of the season, piling up 6.3 yards per carry. That kind of production would be impressive against most teams, but it was especially surprising considering Miami’s season-long struggles on the ground - and the fact that Texas A&M, while not elite, wasn’t exactly a pushover against the run.
Let’s put it in perspective: A&M came into the game ranked 40th nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (130.8) and 68th in yards per carry allowed (4.2). Respectable, but not dominant.
Still, Miami hadn’t exactly been lighting it up on the ground this year either. The Hurricanes ranked 76th nationally in rushing yards per game (151.9) and 71st in yards per carry (4.3).
To put it bluntly, the run game has been more of a complementary piece than a driving force.
But against the Aggies, something clicked. And now, with a semifinal matchup looming against Ohio State - owners of one of the nastiest run defenses in the country - the question becomes: was that performance a one-off, or a sign of something more?
Meet the Man Behind the Surge: Mark Fletcher Jr.
If you’re looking for the heart of Miami’s ground game, it beats in No. 4 - Mark Fletcher Jr.
Fletcher’s story is layered. Originally committed to Ohio State in the class of 2023, he flipped to Miami late in the cycle, just three days before signing day.
The Buckeyes had missed on several of their top running back targets, and Fletcher was expected to be their guy. But the Hurricanes, the team his family grew up cheering for, made a late push - and it paid off.
Since then, Fletcher’s journey has been anything but smooth. In October 2024, he lost his father, Mark Fletcher Sr., unexpectedly.
He was just 53. That loss became Fletcher’s motivation.
“That’s my why,” Fletcher said earlier this season. “I don’t know what I would tell you what my ‘why’ was before. I just loved playing football, but this is definitely my why now and will forever be that way.”
On the field, it’s been a season of highs and lows. Fletcher has four 100-yard games - including his breakout against Texas A&M - but he’s also had four games where he failed to reach 40 yards, averaging under 3.5 yards per carry in each. That inconsistency has mirrored Miami’s overall run game.
But when the lights were brightest, Fletcher delivered. He torched the Aggies for 172 yards on just 17 carries - a career-best 10.1 yards per attempt - and set up the game-winning touchdown with back-to-back runs of 56 and 12 yards. It was the kind of performance that makes you sit up and wonder if something’s finally clicking.
Big Man Football
It helps that Fletcher runs behind one of the biggest offensive lines in college football. Miami’s front averages 329 pounds across the board, anchored by two absolute units at tackle: Francis Mauigoa (335 pounds) and Markel Bell (345 pounds). Mauigoa, a consensus first-team All-American, and Bell have been the tone-setters for a group that, when it’s clicking, can move bodies.
“They’ve got a big O-line. They’re physical.
They do a good job up there,” said Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles. “And then it goes to the back, four.
He’s a big back. He does a great job as well.”
Styles isn’t wrong. Fletcher, at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, brings the kind of power that fits perfectly behind a line built to lean on defenders.
When Miami gets downhill, they’re tough to stop. The question is whether they can do it against a defense that’s been stopping just about everyone.
The Wall in Scarlet and Gray
Ohio State’s run defense is no joke. The Buckeyes rank fifth nationally in both rushing yards allowed per game (84.5) and yards per carry allowed (2.8). They’ve been stout, disciplined, and physical all season long - a unit that didn’t flinch when four starters left for the NFL last spring.
Replacing that kind of talent isn’t easy, but the Buckeyes didn’t rebuild - they reloaded. Defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, a unanimous All-American, anchors a front that’s been fueled by doubt since the offseason. And they’re playing with a chip on their shoulder after a disappointing loss in the Big Ten Championship Game to Indiana.
“People counted us out,” said defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. “But we just keep our head down.
We come in and we work hard each and every day. We still use that as fuel.
Especially last game - that wasn’t our best performance, and as a leader of the D-line, that was my fault. But coming into this next game, we’re going to be hyped up for sure.”
McDonald echoed that sentiment.
“It’s all about us,” he said. “I feel like the preparation I put in, I won’t be blocked. So whatever they got for us, we’re coming.”
That’s the mentality Miami is walking into - a defense that’s not just talented, but angry. A group that doesn’t feel like it’s peaked yet, and is still chasing its best performance.
“I feel like we haven’t reached our full potential because we didn’t get that last win,” McDonald added. “But I know Caden Curry, Kenyatta Jackson, Eddrick Houston, Tywone Malone Jr., Zion Grady, Will Smith Jr. - all those guys, I know we’re gonna be ready.
So we’re not happy at all. We’re angry.”
Can Miami Run the Ball Again?
Here’s what we know: Miami’s 6.3 yards per carry against Texas A&M was their second-best mark of the season - only behind a 6.6 YPC outing against Bethune-Cookman back in Week 2. That’s a long time ago, and Bethune-Cookman is an FCS team, so it’s hard to draw a straight line from that to what they’ll face against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes are a different animal. They don’t give up big runs.
They don’t miss tackles. And they’ve got the kind of depth that wears down offensive lines over four quarters.
But Miami has momentum. They have a back running for something bigger than stats. And they’ve got a line that’s shown it can dominate when it gets rolling.
This semifinal matchup is going to be won in the trenches. If Fletcher and the Hurricanes can replicate anything close to what they did against A&M, they’ll give themselves a shot. But if Ohio State’s front plays up to its potential - the potential they’re still chasing - it could be a long day for Miami’s ground game.
One thing’s for sure: we’re about to find out just how real that Texas A&M performance was.