No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 10 Miami will kick off the College Football Playoff Saturday slate at 12:00 PM ET inside Kyle Field. The Aggies and Hurricanes were the two teams that beat Notre Dame earlier this season, which kept the Fighting Irish out of the CFP. Saturday’s game will mark the first CFP appearance for both programs, and the first CFP win for the program that comes out on top.

A&M ran the table this season until it fell in its regular season finale at Texas, finishing with an 11-1 record. Miami suffered losses to Louisville and SMU throughout the season, but snuck into the College Football Playoff over Notre Dame thanks to its Week One victory over the Irish.

Ahead of the matchup, ESPN’s ‘College GameDay Podcast‘ took a stab at predicting the winner. The trio of Rece Davis, Pete Thamel, and Dan Wetzel landed on Miami to steal a win in College Station, two picks to one.

“I am going to take Texas A&M in this game,” Thamel started. “It’s going to be an excellent game. I love the matchup and I love the talent. I can’t wait to be outside of Kyle Field on Saturday morning for GameDay and just feeling the energy and the vibe there. This is a program that’s waited for this moment for decades. I don’t think Miami can overcome the talent disparity, the environment, and I think Texas A&M will find a way to win and advance.”

Texas A&M owns quality victories over No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 20 LSU, and No. 22 Missouri and sat as high as No. 3 in the College Football Playoff Rankings prior to its loss to Texas. However, Dan Wetzel and Rece Davis don’t believe in Mike Elko’s program to down the Hurricanes at home.

Dan Wetzel and Rece Davis pick Miami to upset Texas A&M in College Station

“I’m going to take Miami,” Wetzel contradicted. “A&M can prove me 100% wrong by showing what I think the program can be under Mike Elko. Are they there right now?”

Since head coach Mario Cristobal took over at Miami, the Hurricanes are 32-18 across four seasons. They’ve been on the edge of making the College Football Playoff for the last few years, but this marks their first true chance to win a National Championship.

“I’m also going to take the Hurricanes,” Davis said. “The home team has won every one of the Playoff games last year. I think Miami will be the first team to win on the road. Miami in a big game… I really like Mario Cristobal, but they’ve created ways to come up short in situations like this historically. It bothers me. A&M also, too, historically. I think it’s a great point Dan about ‘what is your program?’ Are you elite? Somebody’s going to take a step forward, but is this going to be one of those games where someone steps forward? Or will it be a dumb loses more than smart wins? I think it will be a great game. I’m gonna take Miami, slightest of edge.”

Kick-off between the two programs on Saturday is scheduled for 12:00 PM ET. Their last meeting came in 2023, where Miami came out on top 48-33 at home. The game can be seen on ABC, and the winner will advance to face No. 2 Ohio State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (CFP Quarterfinals).