* INSTANT ANALYSIS: Alabama survives comeback to down Texas A&M
After two complete performances to open conference play, No. 1 Alabama survived a sloppy second half to come away with a 27-19 win over Texas A&M on Saturday. The game saw the Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0 in the SEC), nearly squander a 24-3 lead in the third quarter as the Aggies (4-2, 2-1) mounted a late comeback in the fourth quarter.
Nevertheless, Alabama was able to start 6-0 for the second straight season and seventh time in 10 years. Saturday’s performance was somewhat of a mixed bag for the Tide and left several things to work on this week. Here’s a look at how Alabama graded out position by position:
Quarterbacks — B-
Jalen Hurts didn’t experience quite the happy homecoming some were expecting in his return to the Lone Star State. The Houston, Texas native completed 13 of 22 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 56 yards and another score on the ground. While those numbers aren’t terrible, Hurts looked like a shell of the dominant quarterback who torched Ole Miss for 197 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air while racking up 101 yards and a touchdown on the ground a week ago.
Hurts had a slow start as he was just 1 of 2 for a single yard at the end of the first quarter. After heading into the half 7 of 13 for 50 yards, the sophomore quarterback came out sharp in the third quarter. Hurts led Alabama down on a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive to start the second half, completing all four of his passes, including an 8-yard touchdown to freshman receiver Henry Ruggs to put the Tide up 24-3. Hurts two touchdowns on the night move into fifth place on the Alabama career touchdown responsibility list with 48 combined career touchdown.
Pressured for most of the game, Hurts put together an up-and-down performance, especially on third down where Alabama converted on just four of 14 attempts. One positive was his continued ability to take care of the ball in the passing game. Hurts has now attempted 191 passes without an interception, dating back to the first half of the Iron Bowl against Auburn last season. The streak is currently the second-longest in school history behind AJ McCarron’s 291 attempts in 2011-12.
Running backs — B
A 75-yard run from Damien Harris made the stat sheet appear a little better than reality. Alabama finished the day with 232 yards on the ground but was not able to maintain much of a rhythm in the running game.
Harris led the team with 124 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, an average of 8.9 yards per carry. Although, without the 75-yard run the junior’s average drops down to a pedestrian 3.8 yards per touch. Bo Scarbrough was the only other running back to record a carry, rushing the ball 15 times for 55 yards, an average of 3.7 yards per carry. Scarbrough once again played a part in the passing game, catching all three passes thrown his way for 21 yards.
Receivers — C-
It was a day to forget for Alabama’s receivers as the Tide didn’t give Hurts much help with several dropped passes on the night. Six different receivers recorded a catch against Texas A&M with Calvin Ridley leading the way with five receptions for 68 yards.
Ridley has now led the Tide in receiving in all but one of Alabama’s six games this season. Saturday, the junior extended his streak to 36 straight games with a reception. Ridley was slow to get up on a play in the third quarter but was able to return. Following the game, Alabama head coach Nick Saban said the receiver suffered a thigh bruise an will “probably be alright.”
Outside of Ridley, Alabama had little production on the night. Freshman Jerry Jeudy was the only other Tide wide receiver to tally double-digit receiving yards, catching two passes for 24 yards. Ruggs’ 8-yard touchdown reception was his lone catch of the night. The freshman now has team-high three receiving touchdowns on the year.
Robert Foster had a woeful performance. The senior was targeted twice, dropping a pass and fumbling after a two-yard reception. Foster’s fumble was the first turnover Alabama gave up all season, ending a 36-quarter streak of turnover-free play.
Offensive line — C-
After helping Alabama gain 600 or more yards in its two previous games, it appeared the Tide’s offensive line had finally turned the corner. Playing against one of the toughest tests its seen all season, the line struggled to maintain consistency against Texas A&M.
The Aggies entered the game leading the SEC with 20 sacks. Saturday, Texas A&M was able to make life difficult for Hurts, dropping the quarterback three times for a sack while hurrying him twice. The three allowed sacks were the most Alabama has allowed all season, as the Tide entered the game giving up just four sacks in its first five games.
Barring a few big blocks, including a massive hole opened up for Harris on his 75-yard run, Alabama wasn’t able to provide much space for its backs. Texas A&M tallied nine tackles for a loss, more than two times as many as any of Alabama’s other opponents recorded against the Tide this season.
“We kind of came out flat,” Alabama center Bradley Bozeman said. “We didn’t do exactly what we needed to do. We didn’t play up to our standard. So you know we definitely, from start to finish, need to be better next week.”
Defensive line — A
No Da’Shawn Hand, no problem for Alabama. Despite missing its starting defensive end due to an MCL injury, the Tide’s defensive line more than held its own against Texas A&M. Alabama was able to sack Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond four times while hurrying him once. The Tide was also able to limit Texas A&M to just 71 yards on the ground, 185 yards less than the Aggies season average heading into the game.
Filling in for Hand, Isaiah Buggs led the team with a career-high 10 tackles including six solo stops. Fellow defensive end Raekwon Davis was tied for second on the team with eight tackles. He also recorded a sack and recovered a fumble which ultimately led to a touchdown in the second quarter. Starting nose guard Da’Ron Payne finished with six tackles and played a big part in stuffing the run up the middle.
The game also saw true freshman LaBryan Ray record his first career sack. Redshirt freshman Quinnen Williams also had a sack, while senior Joshua Frazier forced the fumble recovered by Davis.
Linebackers — B
Like the defensive line, Alabama’s linebackers played a key role in shutting down Texas A&M’s rushing attack.
Anfernee Jennings led the unit with seven tackles and also recorded two pass breakups. Seniors Shaun Dion Hamilton and Rashaan Evans both had five tackles apiece. The duo also created a turnover in the first quarter when Hamilton forced a fumble that Evans fell on at the 50-yard line. Keith Holcombe finished with four tackles including a sack.
However, it was not all good for the unit. Texas A&M was able to take advantage of several passing plays in the flats, allowing its receivers to run past Alabama’s linebackers in space. While the unit ultimately got the job Saturday, it will need a better performance against better opponents further on down the season.
Defensive backs — C
This was Alabama’s worst unit on defense as Mond, a freshman, was able to pick apart the Tide’s secondary at times. The A&M quarterback completed 19 of 29 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown with an interception. On the Aggies final drive, he was able to complete 3 of 4 passes for 60 yards before running in a 1-yard touchdown to cut the game to 27-19 with 17 seconds to play and set up a late onside kick.
Alabama’s secondary didn’t do itself many as senior Levi Wallace was flagged twice for pass interference, both times coming on third down. The 237 yards are the most Alabama has given up through the air since Week 3 when it allowed Colorado State quarterback Nick Stevens to pass for 247 yards and two touchdowns.
Minkah Fitzpatrick was able to save the day late with his first interception of the season. The junior stepped in front of a pass from Mond at the 1-yard line to prevent a scoring drive as Texas A&M was rallying early in the fourth quarter. Fitzpatrick finished with five tackles including two for a loss. He also recorded a pass breakup and a forced fumble to go with the interception. Ronnie Harrison finished with eight tackles and a pass breakup, while fellow safety Hootie Jones finished with five tackles. Wallace also had five tackles, including one for a loss, while fellow cornerback Anthony Averett had three tackles.
Special teams — C-
This grade could have been much worse if not for a pair of field goals from Andy Pappanastos. The walk-on kicker nailed both of his attempts on the night from 34 yards and 44 yards respectively, improving to 10 of 13 (77 percent) on the year.
Other than that, it wasn’t great for Alabama. JK Scott had one of his worst career performances, shanking two punts while also missing a 50-yard field goal attempt. The senior punter finished with four punts on the day for an average of 36.5 yards per punt. Meanwhile, Saban voiced his displeasure on Fitzpatrick’s decision to return the onside kick at the end of the game instead of falling on the ball to end the game.
Coaching — C
Despite the win, Saban was less than pleased with his team’s ability to close out the game. Alabama took a 24-3 lead when Hurts hit Ruggs for a touchdown with 11:01 to play in the third quarter. However, instead of stomping on the Aggies' throats Alabama allowed Texas A&M back into the game and ultimately had to sweat out a nervy finish.
Following the game, Saban called the positive praise Alabama received from the media “rat poison,” stating he didn’t want his players to get too full of themselves after positive performances. Whether or not Alabama came into the game overconfident, Texas A&M made better adjustments in the second half and left plenty for the Tide to correct in practice this week.
“There’s a lot to learn, man. There’s a lot that we can learn from,” Saban said. “We’ve got a lot that we can do better, there’s a lot that we can do. Sometimes when bad things happen, people actually respond better than when good things happen. So we are looking forward to seeing how our players respond to this.”
