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Bama got the W but no fashion points
Not so fast. Not as rough as it usually rolls in. The high tide known as the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide got a scare from A&M.
On another note outside of football, our hearts and prayers go out to the state of Alabama and all of the gulf coast area, who were affected by Hurricane Nate.
In its previous four weeks, Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC) has made pea soup of its opponents, but on Saturday evening it looked vulnerable against the Aggies, who let the Tide off the hook in front of 101,058 screaming fans, with a pair of turnovers. One such led to the winning touchdown in Alabama defeating Texas A&M 27-19 at Kyle Field. It’s the lowest point output since beating Florida State, 24-7 in its opening game of the season.
The Tide did what any surviving team does, in a tug of war, escape with a win.
For the Aggies (4-2, 2-1 SEC), what could have happened, had it not been for a few mistakes? A&M knew it would not go without a fight and it lived up to what it believed. In fact, it may have picked up a little respect from the Tide.
Who knows, a few plays in the Aggies favor and we could be waking up to an upset.
A&M drew first blood on Daniel LaCamera’s 52-yard field goal with ten minutes left in the first quarter which watched Alabama trail for only the second time this season. However, on the ensuing drive, Alambama’s running back Damien Harris took advantage of the Aggies defense out of position as he rambled 75 yards to give the Tide a 7-3 lead.
For the remainder of the first half, Alabama stuffed the run and force A&M’s freshman quarterback, Kellen Mond to pass. Most of the evening it led to an Aggie punt.
Later, the Tide would tack on a 34-yard field goal from Andy Pappanastos, adding to its lead, 10-3 with 5:41 left in the half.
A&M’s defense held its for the most part. But it struggled to limit the big plays and turnovers.
Bama forced a fumble when defensive tackle Josh Frazier knocked the ball loose from Aggies tailback Tre Williams at the 42-yard line of A&M. It led to quarterback Jalen Hurts’ one-yard touchdown carry. That made the score 17-3 following the extra point kick.
Then Bama opened the third quarter with a 75-yard scoring drive. Hurts connected with Henry Ruggs III on an eight-yard touchdown pass and catch, to increase it’s lead to 21 points.
It appeared the Tide would run away with the game until A&M returned the favor by capitalizing on a fumble at Alabama’s 36-yard line when receiver Robert Foster lost the ball after a reception from Hurts.
Mond kept A&M on the move, as the Aggies faced fourth and two. On the next play, Mond avoided defenders as he found receiver Christian Kirk at the side-edge, before the out of bounds line. That trimmed the lead, 24-10.
With momentum from an electric crowd, Texas A&M seemed poised to draw within seven points, but disaster reared up as defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted Mond at the one-yard line.
The Aggies would make good on a safety and get a late touchdown, but it would not be enough.
