Four Downs: Alabama too strong for Aggies on Saturday night in College Station

 
COLLEGE STATION-​The​ ​Aggies​ ​(4-2)​ ​played​ ​host​ ​to​ ​top-ranked ​Alabama​ ​(6-0)​ ​in​ ​their​ ​toughest​ ​matchup​ ​of the​ ​season.​ ​Texas​ ​A&M​ ​never​ ​looked​ ​intimidated​ ​by​ ​the​ ​Tide​ ​and​ ​they​ ​never​ ​backed​ ​down.​ ​In the​ ​end​ ​Alabama​ ​was​ ​just​ ​too​ ​tough​ ​for​ ​the​ ​Texas​ ​A&M​ ​to​ ​overcome,​ ​as​ ​the​ ​Tide​ ​won​ ​27-19.

The​ ​Alabama​ ​rushing​ ​attack

Alabama​ ​prides​ ​themselves​ ​on​ ​being​ ​able​ ​to​ ​run​ ​the​ ​ball​ ​effectively​ ​and​ ​drain​ ​the​ ​game​ ​clock​ ​in the​ ​process.​ ​The​ ​Tide​ ​rushed​ ​the​ ​ball​ ​43​ ​times​ ​for​ ​235​ ​yards​ ​and​ ​they​ ​averaged​ ​5.5​ ​yards​ ​per carry.​ ​Damien​ ​Harris​ ​was​ ​the​ ​leading​ ​rusher​ ​for​ ​Alabama​ ​with​ ​14​ ​carries,​ ​124​ ​yards and a touchdown.​ ​The​ ​load​ ​was​ ​shared​ ​equally​ ​amongst​ ​the​ ​Alabama​ ​team,​ ​as​ ​Bo​ ​Scarborough​ ​had 15​ ​carries for​ ​59​ ​yards​ ​and​ ​Channelview​ ​native​ ​Jalen​ ​Hurts​ ​had​ ​14​ ​carries for ​56​ ​yards and a ​ ​touchdown.

Manic​ ​Mond-Play

Texas​ ​A&M​ ​freshman​ ​QB​ ​Kellen​ ​Mond​ ​had​ ​a​ ​solid​ ​performance​ ​against​ ​a​ ​dominant​ ​Alabama defense.​ ​Mond​ ​found​ ​himself​ ​running​ ​for​ ​his​ ​life​ ​on​ ​some​ ​plays​ ​and​ ​at​ ​times​ ​made​ ​miraculous plays​ ​out​ ​of​ ​nothing.​ ​Kellen​ ​finished​ ​the​ ​game​ ​19/29,​ ​237​ ​passing​ ​yards, ​a ​touchdown and an interception to go with a​ ​rushing​ ​touchdown.

Relentless​ ​Defense​ ​by​ ​Alabama

The​ ​Alabama​ ​defense​ ​was​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Texas​ ​A&M​ ​backfield​ ​all​ ​game,​ ​as​ ​the​ ​on​ ​the​ ​battle​ ​up​ ​front. During​ ​the​ ​game,​ ​the​ ​Alabama​ ​defense​ ​forced​ ​the​ ​Aggies​ ​to​ ​punt​ ​four​ ​times,​ ​fumble​ ​twice, turnover​ ​on​ ​downs​ ​twice,​ ​and​ ​throw​ ​one​ ​interception.​ ​Texas​ ​A&M​ ​was​ ​able​ ​to​ ​win​ ​the​ ​time​ ​of possession​ ​32:28​ ​to​ ​27:32​ ​and​ ​they​ ​managed​ ​to​ ​gain​ ​308​ ​yards​ ​against​ ​the​ ​Tide​ ​defense,​ ​but they​ ​were​ ​crippled​ ​by​ ​the​ ​three​ ​turnovers.

Confidence​ ​Boost​ ​for​ ​A&M

Even​ ​though​ ​the​ ​Aggies​ ​weren’t​ ​able​ ​to​ ​come​ ​away​ ​victorious,​ ​they​ ​should​ ​come​ ​away confident.​ ​Texas​ ​A&M​ ​played​ ​outstanding​ ​overall​ ​and​ ​Kellen​ ​Mond​ ​put​ ​up​ ​better​ ​numbers​ ​than Jalen​ ​Hurts.​ ​The​ ​Aggies​ ​held​ ​an​ ​Alabama​ ​offense​ ​that​ ​averages​ ​46​ ​points​ ​per​ ​game​ ​to​ ​just​ ​27 points.​ ​Texas​ ​A&M​ ​had​ ​the​ ​same​ ​amount​ ​of​ ​first​ ​downs​ ​as​ ​Alabama,​ ​16​ ​and​ ​the​ ​Aggies​ ​had 114​ ​more​ ​passing​ ​yards​ ​than​ ​the​ ​Tide.​ ​Kevin​ ​Sumlin​ ​and​ ​John​ ​Chavis​ ​have​ ​a​ ​young​ ​squad​ ​with a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​upside​ ​and​ ​potential,​ ​it​ ​will​ ​be​ ​fun​ ​to​ ​see​ ​how​ ​the​ ​Aggies​ ​progress​ ​the​ ​rest​ ​of​ ​the​ ​season.

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