How Alabama beat Texas A&M: Crimson Tide remain undefeated in SEC play
Alabama holds off Texas A&M in College Station
Kennington Smith and The Athletic College Football Staff
October 8, 2023 at 11:54 AM EDT
Tim Warner / Getty Images
Jermaine Burton’s moment as Alabama's top receiver is here
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The question has loomed over Alabama’s team since the beginning of 2023, and it was still unanswered five games into the season. Who is the Crimson Tide’s No. 1 wide receiver, and when would that person emerge?
Saturday at Texas A&M felt like as good a time as any with expected trouble in the run game against the Aggies’ defensive front. Senior Jermaine Burton felt like he and his fellow receivers were due and expressed it before the game.
“I felt it,” Burton said. “I was telling (his teammates) inside the locker room that we need to come out and attack, (the Kyle Field crowd) wants to storm the field. I saw it was the third-largest attended game ever (108,101); it’s for a reason. A lot of people wanted to see us lose, and I didn’t want that to happen.”
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Jermaine Burton’s moment as Alabama football’s top receiver is here, and he’s ready for it
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The inevitability of Alabama and how far Nick Saban can take this team
Sometimes it feels as though Alabama is just inevitable.
If there were ever a year for us to reasonably write off the Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff race by mid-October, this was it. Yet here are the Crimson Tide — fresh off a 26-20 win over Texas A&M in College Station on Saturday afternoon — and they should be considered the heavy favorites to win the SEC West.
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The inevitability of Alabama and how far Nick Saban can take this team
Alabama defeats Texas A&M 26-20
Texas A&M got six sacks, deflected three passes and intercepted another. But as well as the Aggie defense played, the Crimson Tide matched them step for step.
Jalen Milroe has moments that make you question him and moments of sublime quarterback play. And at the end of the day, he and the Alabama offense managed to play through penalties (14), poor rushing play, and their own turnovers to win the day. This might be best typified in the play of Jermaine Burton, who simultaneously was the hero on offense with two touchdowns and even more big plays, while also giving Texas A&M a chance with a fumbled receiver.
What a slugfest, what a game. But, inevitably, the Tide rolled in.
Alabama leads 26-20 late in the fourth quarter
Texas A&M manages to score a field goal with a little more than two minutes left in the game, then tries for the onside kick and fails to recover.
Texas A&M's defensive line has been stalwart the entire game, and now it comes down to their play. Can they hold the Tide and allow the Aggie offense one last shot to win the game?
Alabama extends its lead to 26-17 in the fourth quarter
I said in the pregame that the key for Texas A&M to win was for Max Johnson to play four quarters of consistent football. He didn't have much time, and more credit should go to the Alabama defensive line than blame Johnson. However, that safety in the endzone via an intentional grounding penalty might be a backbreaking moment for the Aggies, now down two scores with less than six minutes in the fourth quarter.
And of course, the safety means that Alabama has the ball back again, with a chance to potentially put the game away.
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What a play by Alabama's Chris Braswell
Just when you think Alabama's on their heels, they turn it right back around. After Jermaine Burton's fumbled reception gave Texas A&M the ball back, an incredible play by Chris Braswell prevented the Aggies from converting that turnover into points on the board. Even though his return of the blocked field goal was called back due to a penalty on Dallas Turner, still it prevents A&M from making it closer than a touchdown and gives the ball back to Jalen Milroe and company.
A&M must get a stop here, because the nine minutes on the clock will tick away quickly.
Jermaine Burton is putting the Crimson Tide offense on his back in the second half
Alabama has scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, both on passes to Burton. He is averaging more than 23 yards per reception and seems to be uncoverable, at least by Texas A&M's Josh DeBerry.
On a drive that took six plays and covered 80 yards, Burton's catches accounted for 65 of those yards. Bama 24, Texas A&M 17.
We're tied at 17
That was a dime from Jalen Milroe to Jermaine Burton to tie the game in College Station. It’s so weird watching Milroe play. Sometimes it feels like Alabama can’t move the ball because it has a quarterback problem. Sometimes Milroe will hang in a dirty pocket and drop the perfect pass for a game-swinging play. Which Milroe are we going to get for the rest of this game?
Momentum shifting play
If Alabama comes back to win, that interception by Caleb Downs might be looked at as the turning point. Huge, huge play to swing the momentum back to Alabama after Milroe's pick.
Here comes the Boom
Sometimes there are hits that lead you to say the word "boom" unconsciously. That's the kind of wood that Edgerrin Cooper laid on Jalen Milroe as he came around the left side of Alabama's offensive line untouched and blindsided the Crimson Tide quarterback. Previously Alabama was driving down the field, but now they face second-and-19, down a touchdown.
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Halftime: Texas A&M 17, Alabama 10
Alabama took a 10-3 lead on the first play of the second quarter. Here's how it looked for the remainder of the quarter:
– Texas A&M: 16 plays, 106 yards, 14 points
– Tide: 11 plays, 7 yards, 0 points
Five penalties and three sacks allowed in the quarter didn't help Alabama's cause. Texas A&M enters halftime with momentum.
If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again
Texas A&M hasn't been able to create much with their run game, but after a big-time third-down conversion from Max Johnson to Ainias Smith, Aggie runningback Le'Veon Moss only needed one yard. He got it, and ran in for the touchdown, putting the Aggies on top with a little less than three and a half minutes in the second quarter.
Max Johnson continues to stand tall in the face of pressure from the Alabama defensive line. Texas A&M 17, Alabama 10.
Potentially big injury for Alabama
Defensive back Malachi Moore is currently out with a right leg injury. He wasn't able to put any weight on it as he was getting helped off the field. In the meantime, Louisiana transfer Trey Amos is in at cornerback and Terrion Arnold moves to Star replacing Moore.
Texas A&M responds with a quick touchdown
I said in my pregame prediction that special teams would sway the game and it just did in Texas A&M's favor: receiver Ainias Smith with a 46-yard punt return, next play: 22-yard touchdown pass by Max Johnson to brother Jake Johnson. 10-10 with 9:57 left in the second quarter.
And it appears that Alabama punter James Burnip was dinged up on the punt and is headed to the locker, true freshman kicker Conor Talty is warming up on the sideline
Ainias Smith is unbelievable
On a play where it seemed he was courting disaster, he recovers his own fumble and turns it into a massive return, bringing it back 46 yards and placing A&M in the red zone.
On the next play, another brother-to-brother connection as Max Johnson throws to Aggie tight end Jake Johnson for a touchdown. The score is all tied up in the second quarter at 10-10.
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Missed opportunity for the Aggies
A massive 34-yard pickup from Max Johnson to Ainias Smith jumpstarts the Aggie drive, but the Alabama defense bears down. The Tide stuffed a run from Le'Veon Moss, got a sack and then flushed Max Johnson out of the pocket to force a difficult throw on third-and-13, which fell incomplete. Alabama has the ball back with a chance to make this a two-possession game.
Alabama takes a 10-3 lead after 52-yard touchdown
First play of the second quarter: Isaiah Bond runs a nice double move, no one in the Aggies secondary picked him up and Jalen Milroe hits him wide-open for a 52-yard touchdown. The running game hasn't been there early but Milroe's made several plays with his arm-- pass plays of 21, 45 and 52 yards.
Alabama leads 10-3 with 14:51 left in the second quarter.
Alabama and Texas A&M tied at 3-3 at the end of the first quarter
The pressure's been there by Alabama's defense, doing a good job of bending but not breaking for points. On offense, the return of Jermaine Burton's been huge as he's pulled in a few long receptions. The Tide's running game is nonexistent so far against the Texas A&M front, this might be the game that Jalen Milroe has to win with his arm.
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