Alabama may seem unbeatable based on how it’s handled the first half of its season, and Texas A&M may not seem like a great contrast from some of the teams the Tide has left in its wake.

The Aggies’ team isn’t too dissimilar from Arkansas: a host of big, physical receivers and a strong running back with the last name Williams. Neither team has the strongest offensive line. However, A&M is different because it plays at a faster tempo and features a mobile quarterback, not too dissimilar from Ole Miss.

When looking at the other side of the ball, the comparisons end there because Arkansas and Ole Miss don’t feature defensive ends named Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall.

While Chad Kelly did beat Alabama previously, he didn’t do it in a bowl game as A&M quarterback Trevor Knight did previously. Also, neither Arkansas nor Ole Miss had the benefit of a bye week to prepare for Alabama. Even LSU doesn’t receive both a bye week and the benefit of watching Alabama play during the bye week.

True, Alabama dismantled a potent Tennessee offense with quarterback Joshua Dobbs, receiver Josh Malone and running backs Alvin Kamara and Jalen Hurd. While the tandem of Kamara and Hurd has 748 rushing yards between them, neither of them has numbers like A&M’s Trayveon Williams this season.

Interestingly, Williams’ numbers are more similar, at least in one respect, to a different SEC back: none other than Alabama’s Damien Harris. Williams averages 8.6 yards per carry, while Harris averages 8.3 yards per carry. It’s also worth noting Williams’ 89-yard carry is the longest single carry in the conference this season. The second-longest carry? Bo Scarbrough’s 85-yard touchdown run on Saturday against Tennessee.

Alabama’s defense performed well against several strong rushing attacks, most notably holding Rawleigh Williams III and Devwah Whaley to just 67 combined rushing yards.

A&M presents an even more difficult test. Trevor Knight is averaging 7.7 yards per carry, good for fifth in the conference and best among SEC quarterbacks. Alabama’s Jalen Hurts has also been deadly, averaging 5.8 yards per carry with 8 TDs.

Although the Tide faced Dobbs and Kamara last week, the combination of Knight and Williams has been even more productive this season, spearheading a rushing attack that averages 274.3 yards per game, which would be the highest mark in the SEC since Auburn posted 328.3 in 2013. It will be interesting to see how Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt game plans to contain the Aggies’ rushing attack.

It is the passing game that is perhaps even more of a challenge for the Alabama defense. In 2012, when A&M beat Alabama 29-24, the Aggies did so with balance on offense. The team needs more of the same this season to have a chance to beat Alabama. Knight doesn’t score marks with regard to his accuracy (53.5 percent), but his 1,500 passing yards is good for fifth in the SEC.

Aggies receivers Josh Reynolds and Christian Kirk should severely test the Crimson Tide secondary this season. Kirk leads the conference in receptions, totaling 40 (one more than Alabama’s Calvin Ridley).

Reynolds, meanwhile, has the two longest touchdown receptions over the last two seasons, a 92-yard TD vs. Arkansas this season and a 95-yard TD vs. Vanderbilt last season. Reynolds has been challenging opponents with 19.5 yards per reception while scoring 4 touchdown receptions for the season.

Alabama will need a stronger performance from its secondary than the team showed against Arkansas (400 passing yards) or Ole Miss (421 yards).

In fact, the Tide will need to play its strongest game of the season considering that the Aggies have more playmakers on both sides of the ball than any team it’s faced so far.