Did Jimbo Fisher Tip His Hand on the Last Play vs. Alabama?

There's only one thing that would've made the last play of the game go even worse for the Aggies on Saturday. Did the Alabama defense know the target before the snap?

Timm Hamm | Oct 9, 2022

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From an Aggies fan's standpoint, it was a frustrating sequence that ended the game against the Crimson Tide on Saturday, as A&M narrowly missed the upset of No. 1 Alabama, 24-20.

A defensive penalty on the play prior gave the Aggies not only the ball at the two-yard line, but time to draw up a play and discuss their options.

Coach Jimbo Fisher was seen on the sideline talking to quarterback Haynes King during the timeout, giving hope to Aggies fans that the next play would be the perfect one for a touchdown to beat No. 1 ranked Alabama for the second year in a row.

But it wasn't to be.

King's pass to the right sideline fell incomplete, as receiver Evan Stewart was draped by a Crimson Tide defender. And from the looks of it, even if Stewart caught the ball, he would've been brought down short of the goal line.

That play call has been raked over the coals and criticized since.

But is there a reason the play didn't work? After the game, Crimson Tide cornerback Terrion Arnold indicated he saw Fisher identify the target of the play.

Terrion Arnold, the Alabama cornerback on coverage on the final snap, says Jimbo Fisher yelled the name of the intended receiver from the sideline before the play. https://t.co/hTfGrWzLop
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 9, 2022

“He’s going ‘Evan, Evan, Evan,’” Arnold remembered Fisher saying, referring to Stewart, via Michael Casagrande of AL.com. "It was a great route, and I was in perfect position and able to make a play.”

Stewart was a great choice for the target to potentially win the game, especially considering the game he had up to that point. Stewart caught eight balls for 106 yards, but the ninth catch and most important two yards of the game eluded him.

It certainly couldn't have helped that Fisher gave the play away before the snap.