Texas A&M vs Alabama Recap: 3 Things We Learned

The Crimson Tide started out a bit slow in the first half but pulled away to seal their 20-consecutive victory.

Alabama’s offense looked good early in Saturday’s game against the Texas A&M Aggies. The offense drove the ball over 60-plus yards in their first three possessions to go up 13-0 early in the second quarter. They would have led by more but turnovers and a missed field goal kept the Aggies in the game.

The Alabama offensive attack showed its efficiency in the first half, but turnovers hurt them. Quarterback Jalen Hurts had 119 passing yards and a touchdown with 27 rushing yards in the first half, but he also threw two interceptions.

Kicker Adam Griffith also missed a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter.

The Texas A&M offense struggled early, punting four times and turning the ball over on the fifth possession. But quarterback Trevor Knight managed to put an eight-play, 80-yard drive to end the first half. Knight connected with receiver Josh Reynolds on a nine yard touchdown to put the score at 13-7 at halftime.

The Crimson Tide turned things up in the third quarter, particularly on defense. The defense forced a fumble for a 30-yard return for a touchdown and holding the Aggies to just 15 first downs in the game.

Alabama outscored Texas A&M 20-7 in the second half.

Alabama’s defense will lead their team to the National Championship

The Alabama Crimson Tide defense made the SEC’s number one rushing attack look average all game. They registered five sacks and two turnovers in the game.

The Crimson Tide defense was dominant all game long. Defensive end Jonathan Allen had two tackles and a sack in the first half. Allen returned a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown in the second half, his second of the season. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey had an interception in the game as well.

The Crimson Tide defense held Knight to 85 passing yards and 27 rushing yards in the first half. They held the Aggies to just 65 total rushing yards in the first half.

The Crimson Tide have 10 straight games with a non-offensive touchdown. 7 different Alabama defensive starters have scored a touchdown on defense.

Alabama’s offense is one efficient machine.

Whether freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts keeps the ball or he hands it off, this Alabama offensive attack is scary. They scored points on their first three possessions. After the first quarter, they outgained the Aggies in total yards of offense 129 to 25.

Running back Damien Harris had 10 carries for 97 rushing yards in the first half.

Alabama had 17 first downs, 10 by way of rush in the first half. Tight end O.J. Howard had five catches for 44 yards and a touchdown in the first half. The offense punted just once in the first half but turnovers kept things close early on.

Hurts ran for 100 yards and a touchdown and threw 166 passing yards and two touchdowns. Running back Damien Harris also ran the ball 17 times for 128 rushing yards in the game.

The Crimson Tide offense held the ball for 33:12 in the time of possession game. The offense rushed for 271 yards in the game.

Texas A&M is good but not quite on Alabama’s level

The Texas A&M Aggies aren’t a bad team, they just aren’t very deep on offense. Quarterback Trevor Knight was sacked five times and held to his lowest rushing total of the season.

The Aggies hung around for much of the game but two turnovers, including a scoop and score for a touchdown proved to be the defense.

SEC leading rusher Aggies running back Trayveon Williams ran for eight yards on seven carries in the game. Running back Keith Ford got the bulk of the carries, rushing 15 times for 62 rushing yards.

It is the first game of the season that Texas A&M did not rush for a touchdown. They have rushed for over 200 yards and for at least one touchdown in every game before this game.

No need to panic though as this is just the Aggies first loss of the season. At 6-1 on the season, there’s not much they need to hang their head on about this loss.

Highlights

The Alabama Crimson Tide have a bye week next week. The Aggies face New Mexico State in a non-conference matchup.