#2 Alabama Survives Scare from Texas A&M
College Station, Tx. -Alabama has had its fair share of struggles against the up-tempo style of offense made popular in the Big XII and that was the case Saturday as the Tide were able to withstand a major scare from Texas A&M. Trailing the whole game, PK Adam Griffith hit a short 20-yd FG to allow the Tide to escape unbeaten and start conference play with a win.
Down 17-0 at one point in the first half and outgained 119-1 in the first quarter, Alabama was able to reestablish itself and show the kind of resiliency needed to survive life in the rugged SEC West.
"Overall, I thought we played like (expletive)," said a relieved and upset Nick Saban after the game. "The defense was not up to our standard and the offense was brutal in the first half. Part of that is a credit to them, Coach Chavis is one of the best around, and the other part is we gotta do a better job of holding on the ball."
The Aggies' defense didn't make life fun for Jake Coker and company for most of the first 3 quarters of the game, sacking him four times and intercepting him three times. After receiving the opening kickoff, Alabama went 3-and-out and the Aggies marched right down the field, scoring on a sneak by Kyle Allen to go up by a touchdown early. Another 3-and-out by Alabama would turn into points for A&M as Taylor Bertolet was able to convert a 57-yard field goal. On the very next play, Coker was picked at his own 40 and it was returned to the Alabama 5 by De'Vante Harris. James White would score from 3 yards out to give the Aggies a 17-point lead after one quarter of play.
The second quarter saw the tide turn for Alabama as Coker was able to hit on a long pass to Ardarius Stewart to get close, then hit Parker Barrineau on 3rd-and-goal for their first points of the game. After forcing an A&M punt, the Tide rolled down the field, scoring a sneak by Coker to cut the deficit to 3. Alabama was able to force their 3rd straight punt of the half for the Aggies but Coker was strip-sacked by Nick Harvey, and the fumble was returned for a score by DE Daeshon Hall to put the Aggies back up by 10. Coker would get intercepted on the next drive but Alabama's defense would hold on the last possession of the half by either team.
"I can't repeat what was said in the locker room at halftime but rest assured, we made major adjustments," said Alabama safety Eddie Jackson. It didn't show up right away, as A&M got its second long field goal of the game by Bertolet to grow their lead by 3. The Crimson Tide would answer with a Derrick Henry TD run. The Aggies would get another field goal before the 3rd quarter ended.
Coker threw his third pick of the game on the 2nd play of the 4th quarter after a busted coverage by A&M let TE O.J. Howard get free for 60 yards. Saban was visibly upset and benched Coker. "We need him to play better. He's still our starter but he was killing us in the game and I know Cooper had a good week of practice." Luckily for Coker, his turnover didn't come back to haunt him as the Tide defense was able to smother Kyle Allen on the next drive, forcing a punt.
Bateman led his team on an 11-play drive capped by Henry's second rushing score of the day on 3rd and goal from the 6, as he was able to run over two Aggies on his way to a score that cut the A&M lead to 30-28.
Alabama's defense would continue to be clutch and a costly holding penalty would force A&M to punt on their next possession, setting up Alabama's offense at their own 26 with 3:57 to play. Taking the ball out of their QB's hands, the Alabama offensive line was finally able to exert its will on the Aggies' defense as Henry was able to churn out good-sized chunks of yards and Stewart took a quick hitch 34 yards to get the Tide into Aggie territory. After going down at the Texas A&M 3, Alabama called on Griffith to hit a chip shot field goal with no time left.
Derrick Henry ran for 103 yards, 71 of them in the second half and added a pair of rushing scores to pace the Crimson Tide offense along with contributions from O.J. Howard and Ardarius Stewart.
After shutting out Georgia Tech in its season opener, the Crimson Tide have allowed 3 non-offensive touchdowns this year.
| Alabama Crimson Tide at Texas A&M Aggies |
| Sep 19, 2015 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | | #2 ALA (2-0) | 0 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 31 | | TA&M (1-1) | 17 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 30 |
| Top Performers | | PASS: J. Coker (ALA) - 14-19, 272 YDS, 1 TD, 3 INT | | RUSH: D. Henry (ALA) - 25 CAR, 103 YDS, 2 TD | | REC: A. Stewart (ALA) - 4 REC, 114 YDS |
| | Team Stats Comparison | | ALA | TA&M | | First Downs | 19 | 12 | | 3rd Down Efficiency | 9-12 | 6-13 | | 4th Down Efficiency | 1-1 | | | Total Yards | 531 | 284 | | Passing Yards | 391 | 177 | | Rushing Yards | 74 | 64 | | Penalties-Penalty Yards | 2-10 | 3-30 | | Turnovers | 4 | 0 | | Time of Possession | 20:11 | 11:49 |
|
| Scoring Summary | | FIRST QUARTER SCORING | ALA | TA&M | | 5:35 | (TA&M) K. Allen, 0 Yd run | 0 | 7 | | 0:35 | (TA&M) Bertolet, 57 Yd FG | 0 | 10 | | 0:04 | (TA&M) White. 3 Yd run | 0 | 17 | | SECOND QUARTER SCORING | ALA | TA&M | | 6:53 | (ALA) Barrineau, 14 Yd pass from Coker | 7 | 17 | | 1:17 | (ALA) Coker, 1 Yd run | 14 | 17 | | 0:42 | (TA&M) Hall, returned fumble 19 yds | 14 | 24 | | THIRD QUARTER SCORING | ALA | TA&M | | 5:58 | (TA&M) Bertolet, 47 Yd FG | 14 | 27 | | 1:18 | (ALA) Henry, 3 Yd run | 21 | 27 | | 0:00 | (TA&M) Bertolet, 45 Yd FG | 21 | 30 | | FOURTH QUARTER SCORING | ALA | TA&M | | 4:45 | (ALA) Henry, 6 Yd run | 28 | 30 | | 0:00 | (ALA) Griffith, 19 Yd FG | 31 | 30 |
|
01-18-2016, 07:12 PM
