Alabama at Texas A&M Complete Game Preview

He’s come a long way since the snap sailed over his head on one of his first plays.

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, who has become an expert on fast starts in recent seasons, stressed the difference Tuesday in explaining why the ninth-ranked Aggies (5-0, 2-0 SEC) are better prepared to build on this year’s five-game sprint from the starting blocks after the team faded at an identical point last season. The Crimson Tide (5-1) are 10th. It’s far more likely that last year’s game was an outlier in the series.

Sumlin said the first stat that jumps out is how Alabama’s defense leads the country in three-and-outs. “Our goal is to do that”, Sumlin said. However, it is the spread and creative offenses that give Alabama the most trouble, which is why Texas A&M has beaten the Tide in two of the last three meetings. “That’s probably the biggest immediate impact out of that game, personnel changes”.

“We feel better this year because we’re a more mature team”, Aggies cornerback Brandon Williams said.

The Aggies proved that they could score on strong defenses as well in putting up 28 against Arkansas and 30 against Mississippi State. But are we more physical? Yes.

“I think John Chavis has done a really good job there”.

“We’ve got different players”, Sumlin said, mentioning freshman breakout star Christian Kirk. “How much? I guess we’ll find out Saturday”.

But Alabama has no leeway in how it performs the rest of the season. Jake Spavital, A&M’s offensive coordinator, said coaches spent the bye week exploring “unique ways to run it” against Alabama’s stellar front seven. Since dropping a 43-37 decision to Ole Miss on September 19, the Tide has knocked off its last three opponents by a combined count of 99-24. Alabama should be in its nickel and dime packages the majority of the game. Saturday’s game is setting up to be more like the contests in 2012 and 2013. “We have a great game plan… that we’ve been working on since last week”.

Of course Alabama went on to play in the SEC Championship Game and in the inaugural College Football Playoff, but the game also was also a turning point for Texas A&M.

Sumlin would much rather talk about this year’s implications than dwell on last year’s humiliation.

Part of the reason Texas A&M is playing the Crimson Tide in that coveted time slot is the Aggies’ improvement on defense.

-RB Derrick Henry: This could be another one of those games were Alabama relies heavily on Henry and its rushing attack to keep Texas A&M off the field.