46 Things I Noticed When Rewatching the Alabama vs. Texas A&M Game

Let's rewatch the Alabama vs. Texas A&M game and point out the good and the bad from the Crimson Tide perspective.

No. 11 Alabama went to College Station, TX and took down the Aggies to take control of the SEC West. It was an intense game as both sides played hard and fought one another tooth and nail. 

In the end it was Alabama, behind a great defensive effort and a brilliant passing performance that saw the Tide emerge victorious 26-20. Let's rewatch the game and look at things Alabama did well, and aspects the Tide needs to improve on as the season progresses.

1. Malachi Moore plays bigger than he is.

Alabama opens the game on defense and this is the second Texas A&M first down play. The Tide has started this drive in its nickel package, taking Chris Braswell off the field in favor of Malachi Moore, who is rolled down to the line, essentially playing outside backer. 

First thing to notice here is the motion man and the tight end hold Deontae Lawson and Trezmen Marshall just enough to get the play going. However, Tim Keenan wins one-on-one and Moore sees the play the whole way. The pair together make the stop and it's an impressive defensive play.

2. Trezmen Marshall missed tackle.

The very next play is a 2nd-and-seven for the Aggies and Alabama drops into a pretty basic, what appears to be, cover three look. Marshall does a nice job redirecting his man and passing him off to the second level, but doesn't get his head around quickly enough to see Moose Muhammad, then takes a bad angle on him allowing for a huge gainer. Rough opening series so far for Marshall.

3. Caleb Downs is a full grown man.

So the Aggies are really messing with the linebacker's eyes on this opening drive so far. Tim Keenan plays his responsibility on the back but nearly cuts back and gets Max Johnson. Deontae Lawson is totally fooled and runs himself out of the play. Leave it to the true freshman to not only diagnose the play, but sneak behind two Aggie lineman to go unblocked and make the tackle and force a third down. The magnitude of this play is revealed in just a moment.

4. Trezmen Marshall big stop. 

So Marshall has had a tough series, but on third-and-one he sees ball and gets ball. Tim Keenan fights through getting held, Tim Smith fights hard to set the edge and Alabama comes up with a big stop, forcing Jimbo Fisher into an early decision. 

5. Should have taken the points Jimbo.

Fisher decides to go for it and forgoes a chance to take a 3-0 lead from the first drive. What happens next is just a standout defensive play from Dallas Turner. His eyes are in the backfield the whole way and he never bites on the fake handoff. Turner goes unblocked, maybe Fisher thought the fake would occupy him? He's immediately in Johnson's face so he has no shot to get it to wide-open Max Wright. Johnson does his best to find his brother Jake Johnson but Deontae Lawson is all over it to break up the pass. 

What starts as a nice drive for the Aggies ends up netting nothing. 

6. Jalen Milroe takes a sack. 

What's the top complaint right now for Jalen Milroe haters? He holds the football too long instead of throwing it away to avoid a sack. Here is 3rd-and-eight, so really his only option here is to throw, but he appears to be looking for Jermaine Burton the whole way. Perhaps if he gets all the way through his progression he could see Jase McClellan as the fourth read, but the design is clearly to the right side of the field. Milroe takes a sack when he could have tossed out of bounds and saved seven or eight yards for James Burnip. 

7. Trezmen Marshall and Justin Eboigbe trust their keys.

You want to guess that Marshall got an earful about eye discipline between the first and second series? On this second down snap he sees his guard block down and immediately fills the gap. Justin Eboigbe only gives the eye-candy he's receiving a fleeting second, they both close and make the tackle for minimal gain.

8. Texas A&M gives out scholarships too.

Here Max Johnson correctly reads the single-high man coverage and places a perfect back shoulder pass on Evan Stewart. What is Kool-Aid McKinstry supposed to do here? Perhaps he has a shot at the pass break-up if he turns his head, but Stewart's perfect body control and Johson's perfect pass just end up in an Aggie win. Hat's off when the other team makes a nice play.

9. Alabama redzone "stop".

Let's look at this whole redzone sequence. First Texas A&M tries to run an RPO with a pick play off the left. Kool-Aid's eyes are sound and he and Jalen Key banjo the route combination nicely for no gain. You've got some Aggie linemen down field there too Mr. Official.

Second down is a studly play by Trezmen Marshall. Fisher uses motion across the formation to see if he can't get Marshall to vacate the gap. He doesn't. Instead Lawson closes from the end, Marshall torpedoes himself into the line and the pair make the stop around Jaheim Oatis holding up his man.

Third down is where the Tide gets a little bit lucky, and you need that sometimes to win on the road. The Aggie's offensive line holds up against four Alabama rushers and Ainias Smith runs a nice route against McKinstry. Does he push off to create the separation? You decide. Either way a misplaced ball by Johnson still could be caught for the touchdown as Smith had both hands on it. Texas A&M settles for a field goal and takes a 3-0 lead. Remember the field goal Fisher passed up earlier? 

10. The Jermaine Burton show begins. 

Remember when everyone was wondering who would become Alabama's go-to receiver. Jermaine Burton put that to bed on Saturday and it started with this catch. Sure, he already false-started on the previous drive, but he runs a simple route here and high points the football and gets a foot inbounds for a big gainer here.

The Alabama offensive line held up in seven-man protection against five rushers, with a sixth Aggie coming late. This play not only jump-started the offense, but allowed everyone in a white uniform to exhale.

11. Total offensive snafu, but Milroe throws away.

This looks like an RPO gone way wrong from the Alabama perspective. First every passing option to the right side of the formation is blocking. Tyler Booker and Jaeden Roberts fire off the ball and get downfield. It does appear that Milroe wanted to throw to Burton, but Burton looks like he's half blocking, half running a route. 

Ok so the play is a bust, what does Milroe do next after his bad choice to not handoff? Both tackles are beat as they're likely thinking run. Milroe could tuck and try to extend the play, but instead he moves a little bit and launches it out of bounds instead of taking a sack. Growth from even the previous drive! Didn't turn one bad choice into a second.

12. The Burton rollercoaster ride. 

So Milroe faces 3rd-and-six and lines up with his tight end split out wide in a bunch formation. It's six Aggies against six Crimson Tide protectors, at least before the snap. Only three Aggies rush, with another hanging out as a spy. Milroe turns to his trusty target and places a dot at the sticks for Jermaine Burton to catch for a first down. Burton's route is clean, he has separation and the ball right in his hands, but he drops it and the Tide must kick. Painful mental error for the Alabama offense that was building momentum.

13. The 2023 Cheetah package.

Dallas Turner, Justin Eboigbe, Quandarrius Robinson and Chris Braswell. The Crimson Tide's 2023 "Cheetah" package moves Max Johnson off his spot before he can get to the top of his drop, rushes him out of the pocket and Terrion Arnold makes a form tackle to get Alabama off the field. 

14. Jermaine's down there somewhere!

First, I love the confidence that Tommy Rees shows in the whole offense to kick off drive number three with a shot play. It nearly works. Burton shows good effort and once again attacks the football at its highest point. Josh DeBerry gets away with tugging on Burton's arm before the ball arrives but they've already been physical with each other on the last drive. The line holds up and gives Milroe room to make this throw, should it have been even farther out? Perhaps. 

15. Jermaine converts on 3rd Down. 

So Texas A&M successfully timed up a run blitz on second down to but Bama behind the sticks. On third down the Tide is faced with, what appears to be, cover one. Milroe was going to Burton all the way as his route running now has DeBerry feeling less than confident. The line holds up against four. Milroe doesn't leave a clean pocket and hits Burton right on time. If he really wanted it, Kobe Prentice is breaking across the middle but the chains are moving either way.

16. Isaiah Bond touchdown pass. 

So the entire offensive line gets whipped to set up a 2nd-and-15 but Milroe doesn't panic. Instead he looks off the safety by staring at Malik Benson and fires a bomb over the top to Isaiah Bond for a touchdown. It kind of looks like A&M is playing a cover three defense, so the safety to the top side is playing "the hole" and therefore lets Bond go by him, expecting his other safety buddy to pick him up. However Milroe's eyes, and respect for Benson's speed prevent that. Additionally A&M only rushes three and has a spy, so two defenders are left guarding grass. That's the challenge playing against such a dual-threat athlete like Jalen Milroe. The Crimson Tide takes a 10-3 lead. 

17. Justin Eboigbe, your SEC defensive lineman of the week.

It's always easier to play defense when you can get to the quarterback with just four rushers. The Alabama front has been playing better and better each week.

18. Dumb, dumb, dumb offensive football. 

So an Elijah Pritchett false start takes you from 3rd-and-three to 3rd-and-eight. First mistake. Second mistake comes as the Aggies bring the blitz. It's five-on-five up front but the twist distracts JC Latham's eyes and he tries his best to block two men, he and Roberts need to communicate it better and leave the last man on the outside for Milroe to manage. Third mistake comes from Jermaine Burton, jawing after the play and earning an unsportsmanlike conduct. While it's only a 4-yard penalty based on field position it just gives the Aggies momentum that they quickly take advantage of.

19. AWFUL punt coverage. 

How many missed tackles does Ainias Smith force on this punt return? Let's count them together. Jam Miller, Kneeland Hibbet and Emmanuel Henderson right off the bat makes three. Robbie Ouzts dives but only gets a hand to him, Miller dives at him as he tracks back, presumably to look nice on film? Punter James Burnip gets his legs tangled up and falls, he gets injured. Jihaad Campbell forces Smith back inside to his help but doesn't make the play. Roydell Williams overruns the ballcarrier. Shawn Murphy dives at Smith's legs and misses, taking out Hibbet in the process. Smith shakes off another tackle, hard to tell the number but looks like Henderson for a second time before he's finally brought down by Quandarrius Robinson. Sure, Smith is on scholarship too, but forcing eight missed tackles on a single play is embarrassing. The momentum builds for the Aggies.

20. Texas A&M touchdown pass. 

Isn't it funny how momentum works? The very next snap ends up as a Johnson to Johnson touchdown. A lot of weird things happening here as Alabama is clearly in a corner blitz, but Kool-Aid doesn't really impact the play. Lawson goes with the back out of the backfield but Marshall looks unsure of his assignment. What is clear is Malachi Moore realizes he's busted as soon as the tight end chips and releases. Credit play design and timing as the Aggies just made the the right call against the right look. Tie ballgame again. Do you think Jimbo is wishing he would've opted for the field goal on the first drive?

21. Milroe to NiBlack incompletion.

If we're nitpicking in this rewatch, and we are. Then this drive starts with two misses from Jalen Milroe. The first a simple flick of his wrist to Jase McClellan goes high, and the second, shown here to Amari NiBlack also about a foot too high. Can NiBlack make this catch? Yes. But when protection holds up against a mean Aggies front, the quarterback has to deliver a better ball. NiBlack takes a shot on his way down. For his effort and the hit absorbed he may as well come down with the football.

22. Texas A&M sack.

This makes no sense to the untrained eye. First, veteran JC Latham false starts, moving the offense from 3rd-and-10 to 3rd-and-15. Next the Aggies show the same six-up look they've been playing on third down, but two drop out from the middle. With only four rushers the Aggies are able to isolate Jase McClellan while Latham, Jaeden Roberts, Seth McLaughlin and Tyler Booker deal with the interior two. 

Naturally McClellan gets beat one-on-one, Milroe is moved off his spot and sacked. Something is definitely wrong here from a protection standpoint.

23. Painful pass interference call.

Alabama brings pressure on 3rd-and-eight and Dallas Turner gets home. Max Johnson throws a prayer ball and is bailed out by a pass interference call on Jaylen Key. Pretty ticky-tack call in my opinion as that pass doesn't look catchable from the available angles, but a Crimson Tide mistake keeps an Aggies drive moving.

24. Kristian Story bad angle. 

Tough first snap of the game on defense for Lanett product Kristian Story. Story gets into the game after Malachi Moore's injury and has a chance to end this drive with a good angle on Moose Muhammad. Story misjudges Muhammad's speed and the Aggies convert again on 3rd-and-long. 

25. Jimbo Fisher knows the Nick Saban defensive adjustments. 

Jimbo Fisher had been saving this play it seems like. The motion causes the secondary to roll away from the play and Kool-Aid to give space. The pulling guard and tackle cause Tim Keenan and Dallas Turner to squeeze down. Trezmen Marshall takes a bad step, presumably due to the pullers and the two tight ends are left one-on-one with Deontae Lawson and Terrion Arnold. All this action leaves the running back one-on-one with Kool-Aid McKinstry, who does make the tackle but not before a seven-to-eight yard gain. Perhaps he'd be more likely to fill the hole if he put his green mouthpiece actually in his mouth?

26. Another 3rd down conversion and an Aggie touchdown. 

Another third down. Another Aggie conversion. Alabama is bringing six on the play, but Lawson and Arnold are ineffective and thus not really in the play. Evan Stewart runs a bit of a clear out from the slot, giving Ainias Smith a lot of room to work one-on-one against Kool-Aid McKinstry. Johnson finds him for the first down.

Texas A&M scores on the next play, could it be a bit of a tired Crimson Tide defense at this point? The Aggies converted three third downs on the drive and have control of the game. Sure, 17-10 is nice, but do you think Fisher would like to be up 20-10?

27. Alabama's final drive of the half

This drive starts with so much potential. Back-to-back completions to Burton moves the Tide to midfield. However you'll notice on the second play, Kendrick Law is moving right into Burton's space, something is schematically off there. Milroe dumps a pass off to Kobe Prentice and things still appear on track, but it doesn't last. An overthrown ball leads to 3rd-and-five, no big deal, really. However center Seth McLaughlin double clutches and now you have 3rd-and-10. The Aggies bring five men on a pressure package and spy a sixth. Walter Nolan occupies both Tyler Booker and Kadyn Procter and Milroe is under fire right at the top of his drop. A nice start turns into a Will Reichard punt.

28. Simple start to second half.

Tommy Rees gets Jalen Milroe started with something easy in the second half after the first half ended a little wobbly. Alabama's line holds up one-on-one and Amari Niblack makes his first reception of the game after CJ Dippre sets him a little pick to get him open. 

29. Milroe handles the Blitz 

This play may not look like much, a little 6-yard completion to Isaiah Bond. Check this out, the right side of the line is outnumbered three to two. Roberts takes the most inside man, Latham is already locked up, someone is coming free. Milroe knows where he's going and hits his man falling away while taking the hit. Could the pass be a little more crisp? Sure, but you try to fire a bullet while taking a blitzer in the chest.

30. Jalen Milroe throws an interception.

You never want to have a turnover, but this one was sort of coming a mile away. First, the play prior is a blindsided sack that resulted in a fumble. Kadyn Proctor never saw the twister come free and he killed Milroe. The Crimson Tide was fortunate to recover the ball and Milroe was visibly shaken on the play. 

Next Alabama is forced to burn a timeout or take a delay of game. The Aggie faithful made it tough on the Alabama offense all day. 

Now to the play and the pick. Amari NiBlack throws his hand up as soon as he clears the first level of the defense. He is open and he knows it. Jalen Milroe may have thrown his worst pass of the day, floating and inside and Texas A&M safety Bryce Anderson accepts the gift. 

Milroe doesn't make the wrong decision, but does execute it poorly here, leaving a sour taste in Alabama mouths after the drive started so crisply. Was the big hit the play earlier lingering?

31. Caleb Downs is a "football playing Jesse". 

First, this play is SportsCenter Top 10 worthy. Caleb Downs tracking the younger Johnson brother breaks in front of the pass and makes a heck of a play. Is he actually a freshman?

Secondly, Trezmen Marshall should ask the statisticians for half credit on the interception because he was right in the older Johnson's face when he passed. Cool to see Deontae Lawson coming off the edge also. This linebacking corp is so versatile. 

32. Alabama ties the ballgame.

So Alabama "got its running game going" with two carries for 19 yards. Milroe hits Bond for another small gainer leaving Alabama inside the redzone. A missed Malik Benson block put the Tide behind the chains and so these are the next two plays. 

Which throw is harder? The first to Burton over his head, or the second to Burton into the corner of the end zone? 

Look at the touchdown from the back angle, Jaeden Roberts might be a real player at right guard as he and Latham pass off the stunt beautifully. It's almost as if Milroe's interception woke him up as he was dialed in on this drive. 

33. Big Bama defensive stop.

Two plays in this clip. First just an impressive throw and catch from Max Johnson to Evan Stewart. Trezmen Marshall, Tim Smith and Chris Braswell all in Johnson's face and he completes the pass falling away.

Second and the more important play is the 3rd-and-two. Keep your eyes on Tim Keenan, Tim Smith and Chris Braswell. No, none of them make the tackle, but they force a six-car pileup that just wrecks the play. Keenan absolutely submarines the Aggies offensive line to allow his teammates to make the play.

34. Jalen Milroe hits another big bomb to Burton.

Alabama calles a play-action shot with every intention of hitting Jermaine Burton deep, and that's exactly what happens. Eight Alabama players protect Milroe and he hits him in stride. How is Burton's double-move still getting him free this late in the game?

35. Alabama takes the lead. Milroe to Burton again. 

The Texas A&M defensive gameplay is starting to get puzzling, but I'm chalking up to all the ways Milroe threatens a team. It's 3rd-and-nine, the Aggies bring four, with any stunting and spy a fifth. The pre-snap motion tells Milroe it's going to be man-coverage, and even if he wasn't planning on going to Burton, the 8-yard cushion his defender gives him makes him a prime option. The cushion is clearly there because Burton's been killing the Aggie secondary, but it makes for an easy pitch and catch where Burton does the rest and gets into the end zone. 

36. Max Johnson is pretty impressive.

Max Johnson converts a 3rd-and-seven falling away with Dallas Turner, Chris Braswell, Quandarrius Robinson and Jah-Marien Latham all in his face. Le'Von Moss barely gets away from Deontae Lawson and scoots for a first down. This is one of those plays that A&M absolutely had to have, and fortunately for the fighting Fishers, they did.

37. Officials give some help to Bama. 

Ok so Evan Stewart did get his hands on this pass, but it was some bad luck for the Aggies here. Protection holds up for A&M and Johnson finds his man who's beaten Trey Amos. Just an unfortunate break for Texas A&M.

38. Bad pass Max Johnson.

Well there's a reason Max Johnson is technically the Texas A&M backup quarterback. Had this pass had some air on it and been out in front of Ainias Smith the Aggies would've been celebrating a touchdown. Instead the under thrown pass slows down Smith and allows Terrion Arnold to break it up, forcing a fourth down. 

39. Bad Burton rears his ugly head.

Jermaine Burton has been an absolute stud in this game, but on 2nd-and-six, with the Tide fighting to remain in control of the game, he tries to do too much. Burton fumbles away possession at Alabama's own 28-yard line, putting the defense in a precarious position. His Saturday rollercoaster had some high highs, but this play is one of his lowest lows.

40. Alabama's defense responds with a three-and-out.

On first down you'll notice the fight and determination by Tim Keenan and Justin Eboigbe to hold A&M to a minimal gain. Second down Dallas Turner carries his tackle into Max Johnson's lap, aided by a great redirect and nice eyes from Deontae Lawson. Third down's stunt doesn't get home as A&M picks up Quandarrius Robinson and Deontae Lawson's game, you don't love seeing Turner drop into coverage but you do have to keep things mixed up. Freshman Caleb Downs makes a man's open field tackle and Jimbo Fisher sends out the field goal unit. This three-and-out is marked by individual effort during "winning time" in this football game. Impressive.

41. Braswell blocks a field goal, but his effort is overshadowed by stupidity.

The amazing individual effort continues on fourth down as outside backer Chris Braswell knifes into the backfield on a field goal try, blocks it, scoops and scores. It would have been Braswell's second score in two weeks, however it's negated as fellow outside backer Dallas Turner is called for a blindside block. It becomes the Tide's sixth touchdown wiped away by penalty this year.

I don't believe the blindside block rule is legitimate for two players going in the same direction, however, it doesn't matter if it's a good call or a bad call. There is no reason whatsoever that Turner should have put the official in the position to make that call. First, he's fortunate he did get in front of the kicker and it wasn't legitimately block in the back. Secondly and most importantly, though, Turner knows how fast Braswell is. There is no kicker in the Southeastern Conference that will catch him. Braswell is 10-yards ahead of Turner when the hit is made. Additionally, Braswell has Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry escorting him in case anyone may get close to catch him. 

It's not worth debating if the official made a good or bad call, but it's quite clear this is a mental error on Turner's part and it keeps the game in the balance when instead it could have been the dagger that seals the victory. 

42. More and more false starts.

Alabama opens its next drive with a much different objective, move the ball and kill the clock. A first down completion to Bong features seven-man protection against seven-man rush and it's gold stars all around. A second down rush goes for minimal gain, but it doesn't matter as the clock is still melting.

Then things go off the rails for Alabama. CJ Dippre false starts, legitimately, setting Alabama back. Next Alabama's five-man protection holds up against a poorly timed five-man rush, but Milroe doesn't step into his pass and throws it too high for Bond to haul in. 

3rd-and-13 from midfield isn't the worst, run the ball and punt, keeping field position and melting more clock. However Jaeden Roberts gets called for back-to-back false start penalties. Watch them yourself. I can buy the first, barely, but I can't really see the second, even on replay. 

43. Back-to-back "sacks".

In 2016 Jonathan Allen gave Alabama fans his best highlight with his "Superman Sack" against the Texas A&M Aggies. Jaheim Oatis must have studied his film with the first play in this clip. Sure, he's aided by the left guard tripping up the center and then being table-topped by Oatis, however the big man from Mississippi leaps over the two fallen lineman into a co-sack with Birmingham product Tim Keenan. It's a whole lot easier to play defense when you can get pressure with just four.

The next play becomes the iceberg that sinks the Texas A&M ship as senior Justin Eboigbe carries freshman right tackle Chase Bisontis right into Max Johnson's lap for what appeared to be a sack. Technically Johnson got rid of it, but was called for intentional grounding, leading to the same result as a sack. An Alabama safety and two-points on the board.

44. Jalen takes a smart sack.

Ok Tommy Rees, mostly I love what you've done so far in College Station, but this is a miss from an armchair quarterback's perspective. Why call a pass here when blitz is likely coming, and it does? Jalen Milroe is under fire right off the bat as it's six-on-six with the Aggies twisting. Milroe rolls a little but wisely takes the sack to keep the clock rolling. 

Again, the next game I coach will be my first, but why pass at all? The clock is on your side. Slam McClellan or Williams into the Aggie front for a one-to-three yard gainer and punt.

45. Penalties, drama and Aggie regret.

So Texas A&M's time is running out. Trey Amos gets called for a defensive holding on Evan Stewart to move the football. Chris Braswell bails out the Aggies by committing roughing the passer. 25 free yards for Texas A&M. 

Next thing everyone knows Ainias Smith is taking a short pass to the goal line because Kool-Aid McKinstry misses a tackle. He's a dang good cover corner, but what a time to whiff on a tackle. Poor effort puts the Aggies on the doorstep.

What happens next is an Aggie holding call that backs them up. More Alabama front four pressure takes us to 3rd-and-goal. Johnson to Johnson puts the Aggies at fourth down and Jimbo settles for a field goal. Fisher has been slammed for not going for it here from the 3-yard line, however field goal is the right play, he needs two scores. He may as well take one with the field goal. However, I call your attention back to the first drive of the game where Fisher goes for it on fourth down instead of taking a field goal. Those three-points are beyond massive in this situation.

46. Alabama stressfully melts the clock.

Well it wasn't a pretty final possession, but it did get the job done. Alabama secures the onside kick and melts the clock away thanks to a very fortunate bobble from Jase McClellan. 

Jalen Milroe follows it with a strange decision to pass, but not only that, he snaps at the pass and throws it right into the dirt. Coach Saban gives him an earful for the poor decision making, but luckily for the Tide it doesn't cost them. Alabama can't get out of College Station without another false start so CJ Dippre handles the honors and finally the game is over as Milroe launches a fourth down pass into the sky.

Alabama Seizes Control of the SEC West on The Joe Gaither Show