Alabama football got back in the win column on Saturday, beating Texas A&M 31-20.
Here is the good, bad and ugly from the Crimson Tide’s win.
The good
Career day for Rico Scott. With Ryan Coleman-Williams sidelined for a second straight week, the Crimson Tide needed one of the wideouts to step up, and Scott did just that.
The junior finished with six receptions for a career-high 156 yards, including a 48-yard catch and a key 38-yard gain on third-and-8 late in the third quarter that set up Alabama’s go-ahead touchdown. He accounted for more than half of Keelon Russell’s 311 passing yards and was able to create after the catch.
“Rico came up in a big way,” said head coach Kalen DeBoer. “He’s developed those expectations for himself above and beyond. Keelon has a lot of confidence in him.”
Scott’s ability to stretch the field and win down the sideline gave the offense a needed vertical threat on a day the run game struggled to get going.
Two sacks for Fatutoa Henry. A banged-up Alabama defensive front has given more extended playing time to linemen such as Henry, and he took full advantage of his opportunity with a two-sack day.
Henry’s first sack forced a heavily unfavorable third-and-19 after Marshall Pritchett’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, helping the defense get off the field. He followed with another sack on the next Aggies possession that again put Texas A&M behind the chains and forced a punt.
It wasn’t even a certainty that Henry would play this week, as he popped up in the injury report earlier in the week and was initially listed as questionable. He ultimately recovered as the week progressed, being upgraded to probable before being taken off the report fully on Friday.
“I’m really proud of him,” DeBoer said. “He had just an injury earlier in the week that I wasn’t even sure what his production would be for us come Saturday. I couldn’t be more proud of guys like him.”
Redemption for Dijon. The cornerback has had his ups and downs this season, but he delivered a big performance in a game the Crimson Tide really needed him to with top corner Zabien Brown out.
His day started with a ticky-tack personal foul flag early in the first quarter after tossing Texas A&M’s Mario Craver to the ground on a WWE-style tackle. But just two plays later, Lee had an excellent jump on a route and intercepted Marcel Reed, returning the ball 39 yards for a touchdown to give Alabama a 7-0 lead.
Lee has been subjected to much criticism online this season due to inconsistent play and a costly personal foul against Georgia. But his pick-six and overall physicality on Aggie receivers today reminded Alabama fans of his talent.
Strong second half from Keelon. The sophomore finished with an overall impressive line as he went 19-of-30 for 311 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, but the majority of his best work came after halftime.
He was 9-of-11 for 150 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in the second half, including the 5-yard score to Pritchett on the first play of the fourth quarter and an 8-yard touchdown to Kaleb Edwards that pushed the lead to 31-20. He also hit Scott for the 38-yard gain that set up the go-ahead score.
“I thought he did a really good job of reeling himself back in, going out there, and just to continue to focus on doing his job,” DeBoer said. “He made some really nice throws on some conversions there at the end of the game.”
Russell had back-to-back weeks of shaky play, particularly against the Volunteers, so it’s a welcome sight to see him playmaking as he did earlier in the season.
The bad
Conor Talty’s misses. After being perfect in the first seven games of the season and not missing a kick since last November, Alabama’s kicker finally faltered with two misses on Saturday.
His first miss came from 36 yards out in the first quarter and would’ve given the Crimson Tide a 10-0 lead, but Alabama instead stayed at 7-0, and then 7-7, as the Aggies scored on the ensuing drive. His second miss came from 42 yards in the third quarter and would’ve tied the game at 20, but the kick hooked to the right.
Ultimately, not every kicker is perfect. He did connect on a 47-yarder in the first quarter and was perfect on extra points, so his misses didn’t drastically change the outcome. But the two failed kicks did keep the score tight longer than it needed to be and gave Texas A&M additional opportunities to stay within striking distance.
The ugly
Run game disappeared. After having established a consistent ground attack for much of the season, Alabama struggled to get anything going in that aspect on Saturday.
The Crimson Tide had just 68 yards on the ground, with Daniel Hill having the only meaningful yards with 36 on nine attempts. It’s not as if there weren’t attempts to establish a run game, as Ryan Grubb repeatedly called run plays up the middle, but there didn’t appear to be any space for the backs to run.
That limited play-action opportunities and forced the offense into more predictable passing situations, particularly early. Even when the offense started rolling in the second half, it was still almost all through the air.
“Disappointed, disappointed,” DeBoer said. “The stats, that’s all you gotta really look at, and we needed more out of that run game to open up some things for us.”
The struggles came against a Texas A&M front that entered the game without a particularly strong reputation against the run, as the Aggies had allowed at least 100 rushing yards in the past six games, even against The Citadel last week. It makes the 2.6 yards-per-carry average even more glaring on an afternoon the offense otherwise found ways to move the ball through the air.
Missed kicks and a lackluster running game. Are we in 2025?
Hence then, the article about the good bad and ugly in alabama s 31 20 win over texas a m was published today ( ) and is available on The Crimson White ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The good, bad and ugly in Alabama’s 31-20 win over Texas A&M )
Also on site :
- In 1930, 3 Entrepreneurs Started a Toy Company During the Great Depression; Today, It’s a Household Name
- Karen Hale’s mother has lived with breast cancer for nearly 30 years; now the Hales have given $50 million — the largest single gift ever to breast cancer research
- The U.S. has the world’s largest gold reserves—worth $1 trillion at market rates. But repricing that hoard ‘would backfire in a big way,’ analyst says