Alabama-Texas A&M Rivalry Grows Beyond Coaches

Ainias Smith, who led the Aggies with 85 yards and two scores in the 2021 upset over the Crimson Tide, went to high school 21 miles away from Jalen Milroe.

Austin Hannon | Jul 17, 2023

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Alabama Crimson Tide

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A rivalry between Alabama and Texas A&M has been brewing over the past few seasons.

It started on Oct. 9, 2021, when the Aggies upset the Crimson Tide 41-38 at Kyle Field amidst a rough stretch in the season. It was a loss that sent Alabama back to the drawing board — eventually it reached the national championship, losing to Georgia.

On that night in College Station, Jimbo Fisher became the first former assistant to defeat Nick Saban — and that seemed to give Fisher a lot of confidence in the following months.

Saban absolutely played a part in it as well. In May 2022, the Hall of Fame head coach took a shot at Fisher and Texas A&M's recruiting strategies.

"I mean, we were second in recruiting last year," Saban said during an event in Birmingham. "A&M was first. A&M bought every player on their team — made a deal for name, image, likeness. We didn’t buy one player, all right? But I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to sustain that in the future because more and more people are doing it. It’s tough."

Fisher wasn't going to have any of that, planning an impromptu media availability the following morning.

"We never bought anybody," Fisher said. "No rules were broken. Nothing was done wrong. [...] It’s despicable that a reputable head coach can come out and say this when he doesn’t get his way or things don’t go his way. The narcissist in him doesn’t allow those things to happen. [...] The parity in college football he’s been talking about? Go talk to coaches who coached for him. You’ll find out all the parity. Go dig into where he’s been. You can find out anything. And it’s a shame you’ve got to sit here and defend 17-year-old kids and families and Texas A&M. Because we do things right? We’re always gonna do things right."

"Some people think they’re God. Go dig into how God did his deal. You may find out about a guy that — a lot of things you don’t want to know. We’ve built him up to be the czar of football. Go dig into his past, or anybody that’s ever coached with him. You can find out anything you wanna find out, what he does and how he does it. And it’s despicable."

The two have since resolved their tension. There was still plenty of that tension at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Oct. 8, 2022, when the Crimson Tide held the Aggies out of the end zone at the buzzer to remain undefeated.

Texas A&M finished last season 5-7. Alabama watched Georgia lift the national championship trophy for the second consecutive season. It was LSU that won the West in 2022-23.

It appears it will be those three programs fighting for a chance at the Bulldogs yet again in 2023-24 — and the gap among them seems somewhat slim.

One player that has seen all of the interaction between the Crimson Tide and Aggies is Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith. Smith has been with the Aggies since 2019, accumulating 1,996 all-purpose yards and 21 total touchdowns in 37 games. He is 1-3 in his career against Alabama — but it's the one win that matters to him.

Smith is the brother of former Alabama DB Maurice Smith, who played for the Crimson Tide from 2013-2015 before transferring to Georgia for his final collegiate season.

Smith had six receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns in that memorable victory at Kyle Field two years ago.

"Man — that whole process was crazy," Smith said. "That week, our quarterback had locked in. He was on a whole other mission that week. During the game, it was exciting. That's all I can really say — it was exciting. Probably my favorite game by far that I have ever played in, that I have ever watched. It was crazy. After the game, I probably didn't get home until like 1:45. I left the facility at like 1:20 — traffic was still crazy. [...] This year ... it's up."

Smith grew up in the Houston area — and played high school football just 21 miles from Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe.

He likes what he sees in the redshirt sophomore.

"I have a lot of respect for all the guys that leave Texas to go play for 'Bama — my brother being one of them," Smith said. "[Jaylen Waddle], Tony Brown — there's a lot of guys that come from Texas out of that program. [Milroe] is definitely athletic. I have a lot of respect for his running ability. I'm interested to see how he does in the passing game this year. I know last year we held our own against 'Bama. I wish we could've finished a little bit harder and stronger but this year I'm expecting a lot of things out of him especially with him coming from Texas. I'm excited to see what he has to offer."

The Crimson Tide and Aggies meet in College Station on Oct. 7.

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