Texas A&M vs. Alabama: Keys to Victory for Both Teams in SEC West Battle
There's no Johnny Manziel or A.J. McCarron and it's not a top-five showdown like we expected a few weeks back, but everything is still on the line for No. 7 Alabama and No. 21 Texas A&M heading into Saturday night's game at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Sure, the Aggies are reeling off losing two straight games to Mississippi State and Ole Miss. The schedule obviously gets no easier this week, but early-season flashes from Kenny Hill and Co. along with the Tide's recent struggles could lead some to believe we're in for more SEC chaos.
On the other hand, isn't it just a matter of time until Alabama becomes Alabama again? With their toughest opponents ahead, the Crimson Tide will be hungry to get back to their winning ways. One more loss would cripple a still very real shot the College Football Playoff, but a resounding win will have most buying back in on Nick Saban's crew.
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With so much on the line for both teams, getting the victory will come down to executing on a few keys. Here's a look at what each team should focus on doing to get the win on Saturday.
Keys for Alabama
Establish the Run
For a team with the reputation of Alabama's, seeing it struggle like it did on the ground Saturday against Arkansas is akin to seeing pigs fly.
The Crimson Tide's 14-13 win over Arkansas was ugly in a lot of facets, but none more so than in the run game. A complete inability to establish the run led to the Tide trailing 13-7 after three quarters, and they had single-digit rushing totals in the third before finishing with 66 unimpressive yards.
You may recall this matchup from last year, when Alabama was able to hold on despite a huge day offensively from Manziel and Texas A&M. That was largely due to a dominant run game, rushing for 234 yards as a unit.
| West Virginia | 288 |
| Florida Atlantic | 190 |
| Southern Miss | 333 |
| Florida | 223 |
| Ole Miss | 168 |
| Arkansas | 66 |
Alabama just hasn't been the force it once was on the ground, ranking 37th in the nation—still good, but not up to its standard—in rush yards per carry. But it should be a return to normalcy against Texas A&M, who has allowed an average of 240 rushing yards on the ground in its last three games.
Arkansas shut down Alabama on the ground last weekend, forcing Blake Sims to make plays in the passing game. The results weren't pretty, and it resulted in the Razorbacks having multiple chances to win the game late.
A repeat performance of that won't go as smoothly this time around, not with the ball in Kenny Hill's hands instead of Brandon Allen.
Shake Kenny Hill's Confidence Early
After being the victim of Manziel's biggest moment in his 2012 Heisman season, don't expect Alabama to think lightly of youngster Kenny Hill coming into Saturday—even if he has fallen off a bit in recent weeks.
The sophomore quarterback started hot with 17 touchdowns to two interceptions in his first five games. Even though his team has suffered back-to-back lopsided losses, it only hurt Hill in the interception category—he threw for 766 yards and six touchdowns along with five picks in those two losses.
An Alabama defense that used to be impenetrable now has holes, the most glaring of which is in the secondary. The Tide rank just 34th in the nation in pass defense, giving up 208 yards per contest.
With questions in the secondary, the onus will fall on Jonathan Allen, Jarran Reed and Trey DePriest to try and get pressure on Hill to shake his confidence. Alabama doesn't want to get in another shootout, because it may not have enough on the offensive side of the ball to hang with Hill if he gets hot.
Keys for Texas A&M
Eliminate the Crowd Early
Two blowout defeats that weren't as close as the final score suggested has Texas A&M licking its wounds. But after losing so terribly at home to Ole Miss last weekend, perhaps taking an us-against-the-world mentality into one of college football's sanctuaries could be a blessing in disguise.
However, that won't be the case if Kevin Sumlin's squad doesn't start strong.
A 20-0 first-quarter lead helped Texas A&M beyond measure when it pulled off the unthinkable defeat of Alabama in Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2012, but they needed all of it. Alabama made a surge before falling short, 29-24.
Hill will be hard-pressed to give his team a 20-point lead at any point, but any sort of lead at all will give his team an incredible boost. It will also do plenty to quiet an Alabama crowd of 101,821 that—after recent weeks—won't be getting very loud if it sees its team struggle for a third straight week.
Texas A&M did the opposite of getting the crowd out of it when it faced Mississippi State, and it led to the Bulldogs blowing the game open. Doing so again in Tuscaloosa will make the Aggies SEC West roadkill for the third straight week.
Don't Abandon the Ground Game
I know it sounds silly, so let's set one thing straight. By far Texas A&M's biggest strength comes in the passing game, and that above all else is what will lead them to success against Alabama.
But that passing game will have a much lower chance of flourishing without at least a threat of a running game.
The Aggies executed that game plan to a tee against South Carolina in their season opener, rushing for 169 yards that played a huge part in Hill enjoying the aerial assault that he did. A few weeks later, they rushed for 137 yards against Arkansas and needed all of them in an overtime win.
Texas A&M did run the ball well against Mississippi State, but many of those 160 yards came in garbage time. Against Ole Miss, the run game was abandoned completely—they were outgained on the ground, 160-54.
Alabama is much stiffer against the run than the pass, but the main focus defensively for the Tide will be on the passing game. A few first-down runs, however, will allow for those defensive backs to sag and open up Hill to attack over the top.
All stats courtesy of CFBstats.com unless otherwise noted.
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