Another year, another thriller.

If I had it my way, Alabama and Texas A&M would play every year for the rest of time. Unfortunately, these teams aren’t scheduled to meet in the first year of the expanded SEC in 2024, and beyond that, this suddenly electric rivalry isn’t expected to occur on an annual basis.

Alabama’s defense fueled a 26-20 victory, which marked the first time that the winning team trailed at halftime since A&M joined the SEC.

Here are 3 takeaways from the Tide’s pivotal win in College Station:

1. Jalen Milroe found some confidence in the passing game

It was by no means a perfect day for the Tide quarterback. He took 4 sacks and he had an interception. Milroe incorrectly attempted a pass on 1st and 10 on the final drive instead of kneeling, but still.

Milroe had a career-high 3 touchdown passes and a career-high 321 passing yards. Milroe’s 21 completions and 33 attempts were also career highs. He and Jermaine Burton connected all afternoon for 9 catches for 197 yards and a couple of scores. Burton broke 3 tackles on the go-ahead touchdown that ultimately gave the Tide the lead for good.

Milroe’s brilliance — coupled with a lockdown Alabama defensive effort — fueled a 14-3 advantage in the second half.

2. Jimbo Fisher got conservative in some defining moments

Four instances bothered me.

When A&M took over with 42 seconds left in the first half, Fisher took a timeout into the break instead of starting a drive on his own 23-yard line. He did that to possess a 17-10 lead because as he said, Alabama had 3 timeouts left.

Facing a 24-17 deficit, Fisher opted for a field goal on 4th and 5, which was then blocked by Chris Braswell and nearly returned for a touchdown if not for a blindside block penalty that wiped it off the board.

And twice, Fisher punted in plus territory, the first of which was on 4th and 1.

It was a rather maddening approach in a potentially season-defining game. A&M got conservative. As a result, its only second-half offense was a field goal.

Don’t get it twisted. Nobody is saying that Fisher’s $76.8 million is about to be paid as a result of losing that game.

But man, what a blown opportunity that was.

3. You’re looking at the clear West favorite

Stop me if you’ve heard this before — after a crazy start to the season, Alabama is the West favorite heading into mid-October. A 3-0 start to SEC play with a trio of victories against West foes has the Tide now back in an ideal position to reach Atlanta.

Even better for Alabama is the fact that it won’t hit the road for a month. By then, it could already have the division locked up if it beats LSU, who showed on Saturday in a win against Mizzou that it still has major defensive issues.

After all of that uncertainty in September, the Tide now should be back into the top 10 with their toughest road game in the rearview mirror.