Perception matters in college football. The Miami Hurricanes can change theirs weekend

A win for the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday against the Texas A&M Aggies would, of course, have major short-term implications for coach Mario Cristobal’s program. Miami would continue its climb in the national rankings, secure a signature win in Cristobal’s first opportunity and position itself as a player in the early-season chase for the College Football Playoff.

Still, the long-term implications might be even bigger.

In the end, the No. 13 Hurricanes’ trip to College Station, Texas, this weekend has no bearing on whether it win the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division and make the 2022 ACC Championship Game. It probably won’t make or break whether Miami can make an unlikely Playoff run in Cristobal’s debut season and a Hurricanes win would likely knock No. 24 Texas A&M out of the Top 25, anyway.

It will, however, be a first impression on so many recruits across across the country who are eager to see what Cristobal can actually accomplish in Coral Gables. Miami’s first two wins, as lopsided as they were, didn’t register with most of the college football world, buried on the schedule by higher-profile matchups on bigger networks with more eyeballs. Even after their stunning loss to the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Saturday, the Aggies are still a significant step up in competition from the FCS Bethune-Cookman Wildcats and Southern Miss Golden Eagles, and the Hurricanes (2-0) will play them at 9 p.m. on ESPN in one of the only two ranked matchups this week.

“Everybody wants to watch teams that are playing on big stages and see what type of progress teams have made,” Cristobal said Monday. “Any time you get an opportunity to play a great team like this on a national stage, of course there are a lot of eyeballs on you.”

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In his first partial recruiting cycle at Miami, Cristobal managed to pull together the final pieces of a top-15 recruiting class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings for the Class of 2022. The start to this cycle has been even better — the Hurricanes currently have the No. 9 Class of 2023 — and this is still without having any real on-field product to sell.

By next week, some of the mystery will be gone.

“Certainly, recruiting is affected by a number of different things,” Cristobal said, “but progress and performance, increased success rates are typically one of the more critical factors in the recruiting cycle.”

Those already orally committed to Miami in the 2023 recruiting cycle are true believers in Cristobal’s vision — players the coach was able to win over with some combination of his personality, his offseason program and his track record with the Oregon Ducks — but it typically takes on-field success to win over the elite of the elite.

Take Christopher Johnson, for example: The Fort Lauderdale Dillard four-star running back said all throughout the summer he wants to see how the Hurricanes fare at Texas A&M before he makes his college choice.

There’s also Hykeem Williams: The Fort Lauderdale Stranahan five-star wide receiver will be at Kyle Field on Saturday and then make an oral commitment Thursday, and he’s eager to see this new-look Miami team play in person for the first time before he makes his pick.

“Everyone knows how they rebuilt,” he said. “Seeing them in action’s going to be good.”

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Williams is part of a suddenly long list of recruits the Hurricanes have battled the Aggies for. In the 2022 recruiting cycle, Texas A&M beat out Miami for Miami Gardens Monsignor Pace five-star defensive lineman Shemar Stewart, and the Aggies also pulled four-star running back Amari Daniels and four-star athlete Yulkeith Brown out of Miami Central in the Class of 2021, and elite defensive end Donell Harris out of Miami Gulliver Prep in the Class of 2020. Texas A&M (1-1) even expects to host about half a dozen South Floridians for its showdown with the Hurricanes, 247 reported.

Three of those, including Williams, are wide receivers in the 2023 recruiting class and — with Miami working to add one more wideout to it 2023 class — this is a prime chance for the Hurricanes to work on flipping Gulliver four-star wide receiver Jalen Brown from the LSU Tigers and Miami Northwestern four-star wide receiver Andy Jean from the Florida Gators.

The Aggies are also planning to host Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Joshisa Trader — both five-star prospects in the Class of 2024 — for the game.

Even though one game seldom solely determines a recruit’s decision, a win for Miami would go a long way. The Hurricanes haven’t beaten a Southeastern Conference team since 2013 and are 6-8 in their last 14 games against Top 25 teams. A win would arguably be their biggest since their rout of the then-No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2017.

“It’s huge,” said star tight end Will Mallory, who was a senior in high school during the Notre Dame win. “You’re in a situation like this, playing a big-time team in a big-time stadium, everyone’s going to be watching, so it’s big. Getting those big Ws is something that people remember forever.

“When I was a recruit and the Notre Dame game happened — it’s sweet. ... It’s huge for this program, huge for this team, recruiting. I know that’s going to be a big attraction, so it’s just a great opportunity for us and the whole university.”