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Turnovers doomed previously unbeaten and ninth-ranked Texas A&M as the Aggies threw 3 interceptions returned for touchdowns in the 41-23 loss to No. 10 Alabama on Saturday in College Station. Each time it looked like Texas A&M might make it a fight, the Crimson Tide took the ball away or made some other big play to put the Aggies back on their heels. Now as the season goes on, the SEC West race might come down to if anyone can stop LSU. What we know now is that A&M won’t go undefeated, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot on the line for the Aggies from here.
5 TAKEAWAYS
• You can’t afford mistakes against Alabama: The Crimson Tide offense wasn’t necessarily going to run Texas A&M off the field, but the defense has always been capable of turning a game into a blowout. When you spot them 21 points on defense, you really don’t have a chance.
• The Aggies need a QB to step up: Kyle Allen has potential and is still just a sophomore, but his mistakes killed Texas A&M on Saturday. Kyler Murray offers a threat in the running game that’s lacking but hasn’t shown he can consistently move it through the air.
• Wide receivers are not the problem: The Aggies have a quartet of wideouts that would make just about any team in the country jealous. This time it was Ricky Seals-Jones who stepped up with a huge game.
• Pass rushers are great, but you have to stop the run: Myles Garrett and Co. did their thing and got pressure on the quarterback, but nobody could stop Derrick Henry carrying the ball. The Aggies probably helped Henry get his name more prominent in the Heisman discussion.
• A&M can’t dwell on this: The Aggies should have a decent shot at rebounding against Ole Miss next week, and if they do the SEC West race could come down to the season finale against LSU, but Texas A&M can’t afford slip-ups.
REPORT CARD
Offense: C- — The Aggies racked up decent yardage, converted on third downs fairly often and only had 1 penalty, but they couldn’t run the ball outside of a solid, but not spectacular effort from Tra Carson, and the turnovers negated anything they did in the passing game.
Defense: C+ — Texas A&M never really let Alabama quarterback Jake Coker get going in the passing game, but that didn’t really make a difference when the Aggies struggled to tackle Henry, who rushed for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Special teams: B+ — Christian Kirk’s 68-yard punt return for a touchdown helped Texas A&M get back into the game and field goal kicking kept Alabama from absolutely running away with it early.
Coaching: C- — Kevin Sumlin hasn’t figured out the best way to handle his two young quarterbacks, and nothing he could do seemed to reassure anyone on the sideline. John Chavis is a defensive mastermind, but no scheme he tried did anything to slow down the Crimson Tide running game. It’s hard to say the game plan was bad. Alabama simply made plays, but A&M didn’t really do much to adjust.
Overall: C- — 4 interceptions are always going to be hard to overcome, and 3 being run all the way back makes it close to impossible. Take those away and it might have been a very close game, but you can’t simply take those mistakes away. The Aggies are going to have to cut down on the big mistakes if they are going to beat the upper echelon SEC teams.
GAME PLAN
With their explosive wide receivers, the Aggies looked like a team hoping to exploit a young secondary’s tendency to give up big plays on occasion, but it backfired. The Crimson Tide defensive backs were the ones who made the game-changing plays without letting Kirk or his mates catch too many deep balls.
GAME BALLS
WR Ricky Seals-Jones: With 6 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown, Seals-Jones was the big star on offense for the Aggies. Seals-Jones showed an ability to get open downfield, which at times made life much easier on the struggling A&M quarterbacks.
DE Myles Garrett: The sophomore star had yet another sack, part of a 2 tackles for a loss and 5 tackles total. He also had a quarterback hurry and batted down a pass he nearly intercepted. On special teams, he had a blocked punt that the A&M offense was unable to take advantage of.
WR Christian Kirk: The freshman continues to play like a potential All-American. He racked up 7 catches for 90 yards. He also had 111 return yards, including the 68-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Shane Mettlen is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Texas A&M, Missouri and Alabama.
