Cash in on this contest by clicking on Christian Alexander's Thursday Night selection.

#16 Texas A&M (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) at Miami (2-1, 0-0 ACC)
Thursday, September 20
7:30 PM ET on ESPN
Orange Bowl (Natural Grass)

Well, it wasn’t easy but the Mountaineers (-16.5) managed to score just enough to not only beat the Maryland Terps but cover the spread by the narrowest of margins, winning 31-14. Of course, a winner is winner whether it’s by .5 or 50 points so you better believe I’ll be cashing that ticket at sports.com.

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By the way, did anyone else catch that speedster freshman for West Virginia Noel Devine? The kid is a blazer and appears to be every bit as talented as Steve Slaton – which is certainly saying something.

But now that I’m on a certified roll (two whole games in a row!) lets move on to this Thursday night, it’s certainly a matchup I’ve been looking forward to.

Traditional rivalries are the lifeblood of college football, no question. But in my eyes, I get just as much enjoyment when programs with a rich history that never seem to cross paths do just that. That brings us to this Thursday and like I said, I’m looking forward to watching Texas A&M pay a visit to the Orange Bowl and Miami.

I’ll be impressed if anyone reading this was around the last time these two programs hooked up. This will be only the second meeting ever between the Aggies and Canes and you would have to go all the way back to December 8, 1944 to recall the last meeting. Think about that for a second – December of 1944 – D Day, the United States’ official entry into World War II had only occurred five months prior.

By the way, Texas A&M routed the Hurricanes 70-14 at the Orange Bowl that day.

This game pits two teams that have outstanding Thursday night records against one another. The Canes are10-1 all-time on Thursday nights, having won the last 10 games, while the Aggies just barely trail that mark, posting a 9-0 record on Thursday nights since 2000.

History is certainly on the side of the home team as Miami has not lost a game in the Orange Bowl to a team from the state of Texas since 1973.

Over the years the Canes have established a reputation for being unstoppable in the Orange Bowl and recent history bears that out as Miami has won 12 of the last 15 games, including three in a row at home.

However, it would be an understatement to say the luster has been taken off this program just a bit over the past couple years. A 7-6 season in 2006 was considered absolutely unacceptable and ended up costing Larry Coker his job.

In stepped Hurricane alum and longtime defensive coordinator Randy Shannon to assume the head coaching responsibilities. His goal is simple: take “the U” back to the top of the polls and restore its reputation as one of the mightiest programs in college football.

The early returns from 2007 show that Shannon still has a long road to hoe. After a tune up against Marshall (31-3) to start the year, the Canes headed to Norman, OK to face the Sooners and get a stern test to gauge just how far away they were from a Top 10 program.

When the final gun sounded the scoreboard read Oklahoma 51 – Miami 13 and the Hurricanes limped back to Coral Gables with their most lopsided defeat since a 66-13 loss to Syracuse on Nov. 28, 1998.

After an uninspiring 23-9 win over Florida International last Saturday, coach Shannon must rally his troops to prepare for a Top 20 team on a short week.

The main problem with Miami is their offense has become stagnant. Yes, they returned nine starters on offense this season, including a couple quarterbacks with starting experience but let’s keep in mind that the Canes ranked a lowly 87th in total offense in 2006. So far this season that statistic hasn’t exactly improved - in fact right now the Hurricanes rank 99th in total offense.

Shannon might be able to work around that lack of offense if his defense was one of those dominating, intimidating Miami units that simply suffocated opponents. But while this version of the Canes “D” is nothing to sneeze at, anytime you see an opponent post 51 points – even one with the considerable weapons of Oklahoma – you have to acknowledge there are at least a few holes.

You can be sure that Texas A&M head coach Dennis Franchione and his talented QB Stephen McGee have poured over the film of Big 12 brethren Oklahoma’s dismantling of the Miami defense. And the scary part for Hurricanes fans is, like the Sooners, the Aggies have plenty of weapons on offense.

McGee leads an offense that is averaging 444.7 total yards per game and 296.3 rushing yards per game, good for 32nd in the nation – and rising. Along with a pair of running backs in junior Jorvorskie Lane and sophomore Mike Goodson, McGee rounds out a very dangerous ground attack that is sure to test the Miami run stopping unit.

However, one positive for the Canes is that the A&M defense, aka “the Wrecking Crew” has been far from dominant so far this season - Louisiana-Monroe posted 348 yards of offense on them just last week.

Maybe this is the week that Miami’s offense finally gets in gear and helps to carry the team to a victory. With only five games left at the Orange Bowl – the Canes will move to Dolphins Stadium starting next season – you can be sure the home crowd will want to make this season a special one. The question is, can Miami deliver?