Alabama was everything advertised on Saturday. Speed, quickness, relentlessness, pick your word, the Crimson Tide is for real. It was a different level of competition for Texas A&M than even the game on Sept. 8 against Clemson.

Not sure what a team can learn from a 45-23 drubbing other than the heart and desire exhibited, but the Aggies certainly got the gauge they were looking for and head coach Jimbo Fisher now knows how much work is involved in getting the Aggies’ program to that level.

There was definitely more not to like about this game, especially in comparison to the Clemson game. With that in mind, here are three things I liked about the Aggies’ performance and five more that the Aggies need to improve if they hope to reach their goals of becoming one of the elite programs in college football.

Things I liked

1. The drive: What an answer to Alabama’s initial score. The Aggies drove 99 yards on eight plays and consumed 4 minutes and 15 seconds in a most impressive drive. The drive included four runs and four passes that sliced through the Tide defense. Quarterback Kellen Mond was 3-of-4 passing for 38 yards, including the touchdown pass to tight end Jace Sternberger. Mond also ran twice in the drive for 55 yards, setting up the touchdown with a 54-yard dash.

2. Aggressiveness: There was certainly no quit in the Aggies. Regardless of the score, Texas A&M remained aggressive on both sides of the football. That’s really the only way to compete against a team the caliber of an Alabama. Head coach Jimbo Fisher and his staff had no other choice than to continue to apply pressure on the Tide.

3. Mond’s legs: The mobile quarterback gets the job done and usually picks up yards when needed. Against Alabama he rushed for 98 yards on 18 carries; he was two yards shy of becoming only the 14th player to break 100 yards against the Tide in the Nick Saban era. He would have been the first quarterback to do so.

Things that need improvement

1. Wilson ejection: Texas A&M safety Donovan Wilson was ejected for targeting, a huge call in a game where the Aggies needed all hands on deck to stop the Tide passing game. It was a questionable call, as many are with that particular penalty, and left a big hole in the secondary which Alabama exploited.

2. Third-down failures: Time and time again the Aggies could not convert on third down. It was one of the most telling stats of the game. Texas A&M converted just 3-of-12 third-down situations. And while the Aggies did a pretty good job of not getting to third down, when the occasion came up they could not move the chains enough to compete with the high-scoring Crimson Tide.

3. Too many missed open-field tackles: Alabama does a great job of getting the ball to their playmakers in the open field. Conversely, the Aggies did a poor job of stopping them one-on-one and the Tide’s piled up yardage with every missed tackle. Alabama had 524 total yards.

4. Pass rush/defense: The Wilson ejection played a role in this. Still, the Aggies did not put enough pressure on the Tide to affect its passing game. Granted the Tide have a plethora of weapons, but way too many times Alabama receivers were easy targets. Alabama rolled up 415 yards passing.

5. Pass protection: Mond did an admirable job of avoiding a relentless Alabama pass rush. But the Tide still recorded seven sacks for 31 yards and that won’t get it done.