Two Yards And A Costly Call: How Texas A&M Nearly Defeated No. 1 Alabama

Jimbo Fisher needed a different type of play to give Texas A&M another upset win.

They had it. 

A team couldn't ask for anything more. Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King threw into double coverage and was picked off by Alabama safety Jordan Battle in the end zone. After further review, a pass interference call against defensive back Brian Branch gave the Aggies a second wind. 

Really, a second chance. 

With three seconds remaining, Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher had his chance. For weeks, fans had been clamoring for an offensive switch. After struggling to move the ball in a 42-24 loss to Mississippi State, several Aggies begged for the fifth-year coach to relinquish the play-calling. 

With a touchdown here, Fisher would be set. He'd have another week to let the doubters and critics nit-pick a while longer. Most of the 12th Man faithful would be content with giving him a second chance if it meant upsetting Alabama. 

The ball was hiked from the 2, King surveyed the field and delivered a shot to the goal line in the direction of Evan Stewart. As he had done all night, Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold played the ball, jarring it loose the sealing the win for the Tide. 

A 24-20 defeat in Tuscaloosa for Texas A&M. Any other play, and the Aggies could've had it. 

"We had it," Fisher said postgame. "We had three options on the front side and [King] read it. It was the same play we had scored on earlier when he hit Moose [Muhammad] on and they just made a perfect read as to where we were going." 

The Aggies (3-3, 1-2 SEC) had multiple chances throughout the night to become only the third team in history to defeat Nick Saban and No. 1 Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC) in back-to-back years. With quarterback Bryce Young out due to a shoulder injury, all bets of the game being a blowout were off the table. 

King, who filled in for the injured Max Johnson, played his best ball of the season. He connected six times with Muhammad for 64 yards and a 5-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He found tight end Donovan Green for a second score to tie the game at 14 and built a rapport with Stewart, A&M's new leading receiver. 

Defensively, the Aggies thrived. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe suffered a pair of fumbles caused by Fadil Diggs in the first half. He threw into double coverage and was picked off by Jardin Gilbert. Alabama fumbled in the third quarter, leading to a 41-yard field goal from Randy Bond. 

Everything that could have gone right for the Aggies did. And then came the play. The one play that will linger around Fisher's name in College Station so long as he calls it home. 

"It was a pylon route," Fisher said. "We had it, it was a good read but we didn't execute in what we needed to do." 

Fisher said postgame that there were no moral victories in outings like this. The Aggies fought for 60 long minutes but ended up on the wrong side of the tracks running through Title Town. 

There will be plenty to take away from Saturday's action in a positive light. The Aggies have playmakers on defense that can win on any given snap. They have a star in Stewart, whose toe-tapping grab with just over a minute left gave A&M life and a fresh set of downs. 

There are reasons to believe that A&M is trending in the right direction. Plenty of reasons, to be honest. 

There's also one major question mark. And the only person with the answer is the one who could be the biggest problem. 

Four turnovers, three highlight grabs, two yards, and one play. The Aggies had it. 

Until they didn't. 

"We need to finish these last six games the way we need to play the rest of the year," Fisher said. 

Texas A&M will enter its bye week before traveling to Williams-Brice Stadium to take on South Carolina. 

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