And then there were 2.
We didn’t even make it out of the month of September in this whacky wonky wild SEC West Division race, and already only 2 teams remain undefeated in conference play. And those 2 teams will face off on Saturday and whittle it down to 1 lone survivor.
Texas A&M is 1 of those 2 teams, crazy as it may sound, given last year’s results and the debacle against Miami, which almost seems like another season ago now. Alabama is the other. The Tide have taken a similar circular path to the top of the SEC West standings after its early season drubbing from Texas at Bryant-Denny, on the same day as the Aggies’ thrashing at the hands of Miami.
But that was Week 2 of this topsy-turvy season. Fast forward to 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Kyle Field where the Aggies and the Crimson Tide square off to decide which team will be the SEC West frontrunner heading into the second half of the season. It’s the CBS featured college game of the week and it should be a good one.
But for Texas A&M, it could very well depend on which Max Johnson shows up. Will it be “Mad” Max Johnson, who tore it up in the first half of last Saturday’s 34-22 victory over Arkansas in the Southwest Classic at Jerry World? Or “Bad” Max Johnson, who struggled so much over the final 2 quarters that, had it not been for a defensive and special teams’ touchdown, could have let the Razorbacks in the back door.
The Aggies need “Mad” Max to show up for 4 quarters if they plan on competing against an Alabama team that is beginning to round into what we’ve come to expect from Nick Saban coached teams over the last decade-plus.
They’ll need the Mad Max who connected on his first 5 passing attempts to 5 different receivers on the Aggies’ opening drive Saturday, marching 75 yards to continue this year’s streak of scoring on every opening possession so far this season.
They must get the “Mad” Max who in 4 first-half drives, scored 3 times and only a missed field goal prevented the Aggies from scoring on every possession. A half in which “Mad” Max completed 13-of-17 passes for 169 yards and 2 TDs. A half that propelled “Mad” Max to 210 passing yards for the game, his high as an Aggie. A half that helped the Aggies to 414 total yards for an offense that has now produced 400-plus total yards in every game this season.
What the Aggies can’t afford to have is the second-half “Bad” Max Johnson. The one who didn’t handle pressure from the Arkansas defense well. Who, over the final 2 quarters, completed just 4-of-11 passes for 41 yards.
It all began to go sideways from the first play of the second half when “Bad” Max threw a pick-6, turning a 17-6 halftime advantage into a 17-13 nail-biter. It didn’t get a whole lot better from there. The “Bad” Max offense generated just a lone field goal in the second half.
But thanks to a pick-6 of their own from Chris Russell Jr. and a spectacular 82-yard punt return for a touchdown by Ainias Smith, the Aggies prevailed. A few more non-offensive scores against Bama wouldn’t hurt, either. Neither would the continued outstanding defense the Aggies are playing right now. They lead the SEC, yielding a conference-low 253.8 yards per game.
A second consecutive 7 QB sack game is the most (14) over a 2-game stretch since joining the SEC in 2012.
What will be really interesting is whether the Aggies can contain Alabama’s running QB Jalen Milroe. On Saturday, the Aggies allowed a season-low 42 rushing yards to the powerfully elusive KJ Jefferson and a Razorbacks team that welcomed back their explosive RB Rocket Sanders (11 carries, 34 yards). It was the 3rd time this season that the Aggies held the opposition to under 100 yards rushing.
Nine Aggies combined for a 2nd consecutive 15 TFL game, producing a season-low 174 total yards allowed.
Alabama’s offensive line has been a mess, but new OC Tommy Rees has recommitted to the run.
The Aggies have held 4 of 5 opponents this season to 222 total yards or less. Another performance like that on Saturday, coupled with a “Mad” Max outing and the Aggies could find themselves perched atop the SEC West standings when the dust settles on Saturday at Kyle Field.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.
