Miami DE Rueben Bain, Jr. explains after Hurricanes’ win over the Aggies what he did with Texas A&M’s trash talk
The Canes’ star defender explains how he took some eyebrow-raising comments to heart in the days leading up to the game.
The Texas A&M Aggies poked the bear the last two weeks. That bear has a name: Rueben Bain, Jr. And Bain proved on Saturday afternoon in the Miami Hurricanes’ 10-3 win over Texas A&M in the first round of the College Football Playoff that less is more when you talk publicly about your opponent.
Miami’s defense was a wrecking ball against what had been a good Texas A&M offensive line, and the tone was set by the Hurricanes’ elite defensive front. The Canes sacked Marcel Reed seven times on Saturday. The A&M offensive line had allowed just 10 sacks all season coming into the game.
And speaking of Bain, he had three of those seven sacks, along with five tackles and four tackles for loss. He also blocked a field goal in the first half. Just an enormous game from the future first round pick.
So, did the comments from some Texas A&M players going back the last two weeks stick with Bain? You bet they did. Bain addressed the issue in his press conference after the game, and he said he even put some of the comments on his iPhone screen as motivation this week.
Rueben Bain, Jr. admits he was fueled by Texas A&M’s smack talk the last two weeks
“First, like I said before, I don’t take kindly to disrespect,” Bain said. “A little reminder on my phone. All two weeks, the last two weeks, I was ready to play some football. Some guys in the media said some things they shouldn’t have said, but, you know they did, so God bless them. Just writing checks they can’t cash.”
Bain is, of course, referring to comments made by a pair of Texas A&M offensive standouts, most notably starting tackle Trey Zuhn III. Zuhn was asked back on selection Sunday about the challenge that Bain presents, and he made a remark that left some Canes fans and players saying: noted. “I don’t think he’ll be a threat that we need to worry about too much,” Zuhn said.
Zuhn and his linemates indeed needed to worry about Bain and his defensive mates, as it turns out. Zuhn got beaten soundly for a sack on another play by the Canes’ other standout defensive end Akheem Mesidor, who blew him off his spot and chased down Reed for a second half sack.
There was zero reason to poke the bear for Texas A&M, but they did, and it blew up in their faces. Next time, I’m sure Mike Elko will tell his players that is should be all sunshine and rainbows about his opponents ahead of the game.
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