No. 1 Alabama Survives Texas A&M 24-20 Despite Four Turnovers

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Despite four turnovers and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young sitting out nursing a shoulder injury, the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide managed to scratch by at home Saturday with a 24-20 win that came down to the wire.

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While Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe did have a big first half on the ground, the first quarter was very much a story of two defenses, as Alabama was forced to punt on its first three drives.

The first score of the game for Alabama came on a 10-yard pass from Milroe to tight end Cameron Latu with 11:39 left in the first half. The Tide would force a punt on the subsequent drive, before Milroe was sacked and lost the ball.

Texas A&M made the most of the good field position from the turnover with a six-play, 30 yard drive in 2:33 to tie the game at 7.

At this point in the fame, some fans on social media began expressing a desire to see third-string quarterback Ty Simpson, but Milroe responded to the pressure and threw his second touchdown pass of the game on a 35-yard strike to Jermaine Burton to put the Tide up 14-7 with 5:33 left in the first half.

The Tide managed to hold the Aggies to a three and out, but it would be Texas A&M's Fadil Diggs ripped away his second forced fumble from Milroe with less than four minutes to go before halftime.

Once again, the Aggies made short work of a short field, with a long pass completion setting up a score to tie the game up.

As Bama tried to answer with a little more than a minute left to go in the first half, Milroe recorded his third turnover of the half, this time on a long pass that was picked off by an Aggie defender.

The Tide defense got one of its own, though, as cornerback Terrion Arnold snagged an interception that set up good field position for the Tide, leading up to a 50-yard field goal by the program's all-time leading scorer, Will Reichard, to close out the first half 17-14 in favor of the Crimson Tide.

Milroe came out of the locker room in the second half and immediately showed more composure, hitting sophomore receiver Ja'Corey Brooks for a 29-yard score to put Alabama up 24-14.

The fourth Alabama turnout of the night came halfway through the third quarter, when Jase McClellan put the ball on the turf deep in Aggie territory.

Reichard then missed a 47-yard field goal with 0:42 left in the third following a Texas A&M field goal to finish the quarter 24-17.

A crucial stop the following drive on 4th-and-short, with linebacker Will Anderson Jr. rushing the Aggie quarterback, saw the Tide get the ball back near midfield, firing the crowd up and grabbing the momentum back early in the fourth quarter.

In a rare instance for Reichard, the seasoned kicker missed a second field goal on the night from 47 yards out to give the Aggies the ball back with a little more than 8 minutes to go.

The Aggies ultimately got the ball back and drove the field late in the final quarter, but clock mismanagement deep in Alabama territory saw a 4th-and-3 backed up by penalties. The drive ended with a Texas A&M field goal to bring the score to 24-20 with 3:32 on the clock.

Texas A&M made sure to bring the game down the wire, as King moved the ball play after play despite consistent pressure from the Tide defense. After a pass interference call saw the Aggies move up to the Tide 3-yard line, the pass rush and coverage proved to be too much as Alabama closed out the night in its most narrow fashion of the season.

No. 1 Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC) will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee next Saturday to take on the undefeated No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers in what is sure to be just the next test in a tough SEC stretch.

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