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| Photo Credit: AP. |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama was plagued by turnovers and other mistakes and once again was pushed to the brink by Texas A&M, this time with Bryce Young watching from the sideline.
Things turned
out differently this time.
Jalen Milroe
threw for three touchdowns in his first start and No. 1 Alabama made a final
goal-line stand to escape with a 24-20 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday
night in a battle of backup quarterbacks.
Playing
without the injured Heisman Trophy winner Young, the Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0
Southeastern Conference) needed two late stops from Will Anderson Jr. and the
defense. They got them, just barely, to survive four turnovers and two missed
field goals against a team that beat the Tide 41-38 last season.
“That was
not our best football out there tonight,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “When
you don’t have your quarterback out there and the second-teamer has to play,
everybody’s got to play better.”
But the
Aggies were in a similar boat, albeit with a more experienced quarterback sub.
Haynes King,
subbing for injured starter Max Johnson (throwing hand), drove the Aggies (3-2,
1-2) 69 yards in the final 1:50 with big passes to Evan Stewart and Moose
Muhammad III. Jordan Battle appeared to end the threat with an interception in
the end zone, but Brian Branch was flagged for pass interference.
That set up
one final shot from the 2 with three seconds left, but King’s pass to Stewart
fell incomplete.
Milroe
passed for 111 yards and ran for 183, but also threw an interception and lost
two fumbles. Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 159 yards after gaining most of his 206 after
Young’s shoulder injury early against Arkansas.
The big
question now is if Young will play against No. 8 Tennessee.
“Jalen did
some good things but obviously a couple of turnovers,” Saban said. “He’s going
to live and learn and we’re going to live and learn with him. We’ll just see
what progress Bryce makes.”
King
completed 25 of 46 passes for 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns with an
interception but faced constant pressure. The Tide had three sacks and Anderson
was credited with eight quarterback hurries.
Texas
A&M coach Jimbo Fisher wasn’t buying any narrative that the Aggies kept it
close because Alabama was without its star quarterback and made a number of
mistakes.
“We’re playing the backup, quarterback too,”
Fisher said. “Two good teams locked up and battled and went at it and we showed
what we’re capable of.”
Ultimately,
Alabama got a double measure of revenge against the Aggies and Fisher. Another
unranked Texas A&M team handed Alabama its only regular-season loss last
year, then Fisher went no-holds barred in response to Saban’s comments that the
Aggies bought their top recruiting class with NIL money.
Once again,
the Aggies hung ever so close with the top team, a 23 1/2-point favorite.
“We also
remember that feeling and all (through) preparation we’re just saying we don’t
ever want to feel that feeling again,” Anderson said.
Texas
A&M cut it to 24-20 on Randy Bond’s 46-yard field goal with 3:32 left. The
Aggies settled for the kick after twice getting flagged for false starts trying
to go for it on fourth-and-long.
The defense
then forced Alabama into a three-and-out, setting up one more shot for King and
the Aggies.
“We went toe
to toe with them,” Fisher said.
He went toe
to toe with Saban in the offseason but they went through the customary pregame
and postgame exchanges.
“I told him
he had a good team and wished him good luck the rest of the year and he said
the same to me,” Fisher said.
THE TAKEAWAY
Texas
A&M: It was another blow for an Aggies season that started with a No. 6
ranking and hopes of SEC and national contention. But the offense showed late
signs of life in a gutty performance that fell just short.
Alabama: The
dynamic passing game with Young wasn’t evident, but the grind-it-out run game
was effective but for the array of mistakes. Linebacker Jaylen Moody missed the
game with a bruised kidney.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Alabama
swapped spots with Georgia after the Bulldogs had a near-miss against Missouri.
It will be interesting to see how voters view the Tide’s own close call.
STARTING QBS
Young came
out for warmups with the team and took snaps alongside the other quarterbacks,
but didn’t throw passes. Johnson watched from the sidelines in warmups. Milroe
said he found out he was starting before the game and “I was ready to go.”
He said Young
helped him “stay calm, cool and collected.”
UP NEXT
Texas A&M has an open date before visiting South Carolina on Oct. 22.
Alabama
visits No. 8 Tennessee in its first game against a Top 10 team.
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