Bama Central

No. 11 Alabama Beats Texas A&M, 26-20, is Alone Atop the SEC West

Nick Saban and Alabama returned to loud Kyle Field, where the Crimson Tide lost the last time they visited in 2021.

Christopher Walsh

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Alabama Crimson Tide dominated in the second half, with the defense nearly outscoring the Texas A&M offense over the final two quarters while helping lead a 26-20 victory Saturday at Kyle Field.

Although the Crimson Tide running game struggled all afternoon, finishing with just 13 yards, quarterback Jalen Milroe was 21-for-33 for 332 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Jermaine Burton had a career game with nine catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns, and Isaiah Bond added seven catches for 96 yards and one touchdown.

The Crimson Tide surged ahead when scoring 16 unanswered points in the second half thanks to two passing touchdowns and a safety when Aggies quarterback Max Johnson was sacked in the end zone and also called for intentional grounding. Alabama appeared to score a touchdown on a blocked field goal by linebacker Chris Braswell, only to have the points taken off the board due to a penalty called behind the play on the return.

Texas A&M finally scored some second-half points on a late field goal, but Kool-Aid McKinstry recovered the subsequent onside-kick attempt with 2:10 remaining.  

"We have a lot of things to clean up, but we have a lot to be proud of," Nick Saban said. "This is a great win for this team."

He added: "This might be a record game for me in terms of messing up and still winning."

With the win, Alabama is all alone atop the Western Division at 5-1 (3-0) and has the inside lane on reaching the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. 

It was also the next benchmark game for Alabama, which lost to Texas earlier this season, but pulled off back-to-back road wins in league play. 

Overall, the Crimson Tide owns a 13-3 advantage in the series, including a 6-1 record in Bryan-College Station. Last year, it earned a 24-20 win over the Aggies. Alabama head coach Nick Saban is 9-2 for his career against A&M, all of which have come during his time at UA. Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, who was Saban's offensive coordinator at LSU, is 1-6 against the Crimson Tide, including a 1-5 mark at Texas A&M and an 0-1 record at Florida State.

The 2021 loss at Kyle Field snapped Saban's 24-0 record against his former assistant coaches. 

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Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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