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Rapid Reaction: Alabama far from perfect, but still unbeaten after toppling Texas A&M
By Chris Wright
Published:
Alabama has been so brutally, unfairly dominant that when Texas A&M took a 3-0 lead Saturday, it represented the first deficit the Tide had faced since the second quarter of the season opener.
It lasted about as long, too.
Damien Harris erased it with a 75-yard touchdown run on the very next play, and No. 1 Alabama was off and running to a tougher-than-expected 27-19 victory over the host Aggies.
Considering the Tide had topped 40 points in each of their previous four games, Texas A&M held them in check.
The Tide scored 17 points in the opening half — just the second time they failed to break 20 this season.
How did they respond?
By opening the third quarter with a methodical 9-play, 75-yard mix of runs and passes that ended with Jalen Hurts hitting Henry Ruggs III for an 8-yard walk-in score to make it 24-3.
The big play came much earlier, when Hurts hit Calvin Ridley for a 30-yard gain on 3rd-and-4. (Ridley later left with a leg injury and didn’t return.)
To that point, there was no evidence to suggest A&M was capable of mounting a comeback.
Kellen Mond didn’t play poorly by any stretch, but for most of the night he didn’t remind anyone of Johnny Manziel, either.
Safe rarely beats Alabama. Eventually, an A&M gamble paid dividends.
It came after the Tide’s first turnover of the season — Robert Foster fumbled — gave the Aggies possession at Alabama’s 36.
On 4th-and-9, Mond hit Damion Ratley on a crossing route for a 32-yard gain. First-and-goal at Alabama’s 3. The final yards were more challenging. A penalty pushed the Aggies back 5 yards. Runs went nowhere.
The Aggies needed some magic, and they got it when Mond scrambled, spun, a la Manziel, and threw to Christian Kirk, who somehow stayed in bounds while reeling in a ball 2 yards out of bounds for a touchdown to pull within 24-10.
Wow! What a catch by Christian Kirk. #Aggies #Bama pic.twitter.com/keC7K68q7N
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) October 8, 2017
But that’s what it takes — a great play on both ends — to score against this Alabama team. And as exciting as that play was, repeating it proved problematic, though Mond again made a magnificent one in setting up A&M’s final touchdown in the final seconds.
Nick Saban will be happy with the victory — the Tide’s 27th consecutive in the regular season and 20th in the SEC — even though he’ll find myriad faults in the details.
There was another missed field goal. A 19-yard punt. There were times when Hurts tucked and run when he should have kept reading the route. He overthrew Foster on what would have been a long touchdown.
After the Aggies closed within 24-10, a defensive penalty on third down gave them a first down at Alabama’s 15. Minkah Fitzpatrick temporarily bailed them out, intercepting Mond at the 1. But after three plays netted no yards, Alabama surrendered a safety when Scott’s punt was blocked out of the end zone.
Close was the story of Texas A&M’s night.
After the two most dominant performances in the Saban era, the Tide looked more normal Saturday night.
Of course, their normal is still better than that most teams’ best.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
