Coming off of two straight losses, Texas A&M heads back to the site of their biggest SEC win. The Aggies will meet up with Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. Here’s a look at some of the numbers behind the matchup.

THE GOOD

  • 7. Alabama has a reputation for stingy defense, but the last two weeks have seen them be a little softer through the air than usual. Only allowing 6.3 yards per pass attempt on the whole this season, that number climbed to 7 yards per attempt over the Arkansas and Ole Miss games. That’s good news for the Aggies and their 8.5 yards per attempt mark.
  • 73. Amari Cooper has gotten 73 targets this season, per ESPN, by far the most of any SEC receiver and 51 more than the next-closest Alabama receiver. For the Aggies, that means they can let their top corner, Deshazor Everett, to put all of his attention on Cooper while getting some help from his fellow defensive backs. If A&M is smart, they’ll make someone else beat them.
  • 3.6. Alabama boasts a 4.9 yards-per-carry average for the season, but that number drops to 3.6 in SEC play. After seeing Arkansas and Mississippi State in two of the last three weeks, the Aggies should be glad to run into a struggling running game.

THE BAD

  • 4.5. Texas A&M likes to go fast, and they usually pick up big chunks of yardage every play. They run into a solid Alabama defense that is only allowing 4.5 yards per play, a far cry from the 7.15 Texas A&M averages.
  • 2. One of Alabama’s major issues this year has been putting the ball on the ground. The Crimson Tide’s opponents have forced five fumbles, and Alabama has given away eight of them in total. The Aggies don’t specialize in that area, with only two forced fumbles on the season.
  • 5. After playing lights out to start the season, Kenny Hill has struggled the last two games, including tossing 5 interceptions. While Alabama has only picked off three passes this season, safety Landon Collins is always lurking. He has two of the three interceptions, and both of them came at crucial junctures. If this game is close down the stretch, Hill will have to know where Collins is at all times.