Coming off a closer-than-expected win over Arkansas, Alabama meets up with Texas A&M Saturday in Tuscaloosa. The Aggies sit at 5-2 following two straight losses to Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Take a look at some of the important numbers for Saturday’s clash.

THE GOOD

  • 4.24. Against Arkansas, the Crimson Tide managed just over 2 yards per carry, by far their worst rushing effort of the season. They run into an Aggies defense that gives up 4.24 yards per carry, which ranks 11th in the SEC. Even with some offensive line issues, you can bet the Tide will look to establish their ground game against a fast-paced team.
  • 32.5. The Crimson Tide defense has been stingy on third down, allowing opponents to convert just under one-third of their attempts. That’s good news against the Aggies, since it’s pretty hard to play fast when you can’t stay on the field. In their back-to-back losses, A&M has only converted 34.3 percent of their third down tries.
  • -6. It hasn’t happened much this season, but Alabama might have a chance to win the turnover battle against the Aggies. The Tide have been careless with the ball and outside of Landon Collins they haven’t had defensive players go get the ball. Texas A&M, with a -6 turnover margin on the season, has been giving it away like crazy the last two weeks, with 6 turnovers in total.

THE BAD

  • 2. Blake Sims has throw just 3 interceptions halfway through the season, but that total could be much higher. He threw two awful mistakes in the Arkansas game, only to luck out when the throws bounced off of defenders’ hands and hit the ground. Texas A&M only picked off two passes on the season, but if Sims keeps putting it right into defensive back’s chests, the Aggies’ interception total will rise.
  • 5.5. Amari Cooper was one of the toast of the college football world in the season’s first third, averaging nearly 11 catches per game. He’s averaged half of that — 5.5 catches per game — in the Crimson Tide’s disappointing efforts against Ole Miss and Arkansas, including just 2 catches against the Hogs. Without Cooper making things happen in the passing game, Alabama’s offense looks very pedestrian.
  • 1-0. It’s obviously a different team than the group led by Johnny Manziel two years ago, but the Aggies are undefeated in Bryant-Denny Stadium as SEC members. Can the Crimson Tide even that record?