Texas A&M vs. Alabama: Score and Twitter Reaction

Top-ranked Alabama (8-0, 5-0) pulled away in the second half to score a convincing 33-14 victory over No. 6 Texas A&M (6-1, 4-1) Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

The Crimson Tide fell behind by one early in the second half after a brief surge by the Aggies covering both sides of the halftime break. The reigning national champions dominated the rest of the game, however, outscoring A&M 20-0 from that point on.

Jalen Hurts led the charge for the Tide with 257 total yards of offense and three touchdowns. Damien Harris added 128 rushing yards as Bama outgained the Aggies 451-278 en route to remaining unbeaten.

Here's a look at the quarter-by-quarter scoring recap from the critical SEC matchup:

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Aggies	0	7	7	0	14
Crimson Tide	6	7	13	7	33

Alabama head coach Nick Saban didn't try to downplay the importance of his team's clash with the Aggies during the week. The owner of five national championships knew this game would have a lasting impact on the Tide's season for better or worse, per Marq Burnett of SEC Country.

"This is going to be sort of one of those season-defining games," Saban said. "We have three or four of these each year. This game with A&M will certainly be that this week."

Bama failed to capitalize on an opportunity to take complete control of the contest in the first quarter. It put together two sustained drives on offense, one covering nine plays and another with 13, but only came away with a pair of Adam Griffith field goals for its efforts.

The Tide stretched the lead to 13-0 early in the second quarter. Hurts capped an 88-yard drive by finding tight end O.J. Howard, who finally had a breakout game after a sluggish start to the season, from five yards out for the game's first touchdown.

Edward Aschoff of ESPN.com remains bullish on the senior's long-term potential:

The Texas A&M offense finally started to come to life before Alabama could pull away, though. After a missed field goal by Griffith, the Aggies went 80 yards in less than two minutes to cut the lead to six before the halftime break.

Trevor Knight came up with a clutch 27-yard run on fourth down to keep the drive alive. Then he found Josh Reynolds for the nine-yard score on the next play.

Marty Smith of ESPN noted it was a vital turn of events in the final minutes for the Aggies to give themselves a chance heading into the second half:

Sure enough, A&M grabbed the lead with its first drive of the second half. Knight completed back-to-back deep passes, finding Jeremy Tabuyo for a 33-yard gain before hooking up with Christian Kirk from 25 yards out for a touchdown.

The Aggies couldn't get the defensive stop they needed to maintain that wave of momentum, though. Alabama marched right back down the field—three times converting on third down—and regained the advantage with a TD of its own.

SEC on CBS highlighted the scoring play, a well-designed toss to Calvin Ridley in the flat from inside the 5-yard line for an easy score:

Texas A&M will look back on that drive as the turning point. If it could have gotten off the field on one of those third downs and forced a punt, the entire complexion of the game may have changed. Instead, the Tide started to roll.

Sensing that shift, the vaunted Alabama defense pinned its ears back and attacked. The result was a fumble by Aggies running back Keith Ford. Defensive end Jonathan Allen picked up the loose ball and scampered 30 yards for a touchdown.

Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee provided a mind-boggling stat concerning Allen's latest trip to the end zone:

Hurts provided further insurance for Alabama with a winding 37-yard touchdown run early in the fourth. A&M had no answer for his dual-threat ability throughout the game, especially in those key moments during the third quarter, and that was the difference.

Chase Goodbread of NFL.com commented on the quarterback's skill set after the TD:

ESPN Stats & Info passed along another interesting tidbit about Hurts' success:

"

Jalen Hurts: 100 rush yards for the third game. Before 2016, no Nick Saban-coached QB had rushed for 100 yards in a game (college or NFL).

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 22, 2016"

As Alabama cruised to the finish line, Greg Tepper of Fox Sports Southwest summed up the result:

Looking ahead, the job is far from complete for Alabama despite surviving a difficult three-game stretch that included road wins over Arkansas and Tennessee before Saturday's triumph over A&M. LSU and Auburn still loom on the schedule before the end of the regular season.

The good news for the Tide is they get a week off before heading to Death Valley. That break will probably be more valuable from a mental perspective after three straight weeks where they couldn't afford a letdown, though that's not unprecedented in the SEC.

Meanwhile, the Aggies should remain in the playoff conversation, though the road to one of those final four spots got far more murky. They still have games against Ole Miss and LSU to bolster their resume, but they'll need some outside help to earn a berth.

Postgame Reaction

Saban announced afterward that a key member of the defense is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering an injury in the game, per Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News:

The longtime coach also explained the team's outlook as it heads into a bye week, as relayed by Aaron Suttles of the Tuscaloosa News.

"It's good to have a week off, get some rest, relax, but we can't be relieved," Saban said.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin said his group can only focus on its own results and hope for the best from there, according to TexAgs.

"Anything can happen in this league," he said. "What's gotten us this far is 'it's about us' and focus on us. Learn from what happened tonight."