Social media snickers followed Nick Saban’s radio show comments Thursday. Calling the trip to Texas A&M “a trap game” drew laughs because that tag is typically reserved for lesser teams, not one that opened the season No. 6 in the nation.
Saban said the Aggies were “a little humiliated” after losing two straight and were like “a wounded animal.” Initially dismissed, those words sounded prophetic in retrospect on a Saturday night few saw coming.
Newton’s law was in full effect until Alabama completely flipped a disastrous first half into what looked like a methodical comeback as a swiss cheese defense locked things up. The script was written until Texas A&M reversed momentum one final time.
A 28-yard field goal by Seth Small made it Texas A&M 41, Alabama 38 and slayed a few once untouchable streaks.
Alabama (5-1) had won 19 straight before the chip shot sailed through the uprights. Saban’s 24-0 mark against former assistants is now 24-1 and the 100 straight wins over unranked teams ended with the Kyle Field turf covered in Aggies.
It ended a bizarre night that saw Alabama outgain A&M 522-379, dominate nearly the entire second half but fall short.
The loss spoiled a huge second half for the Crimson Tide offense that racked up 313 yards, converted 6 of 10 third downs but a few critical errors were unmistakable. Twice it settled for short field goals in the fourth quarter when the Aggie defense clamped down in the red zone.
“We threw incomplete passes, we had guys open,” Saban said. “We ran a bad route. A guy picked a ball off. We had some drops on critical situations.”
The first came in the end zone by Cameron Latu on a drive that ended in a field goal that cut the edge to 31-31. A possession earlier, a third-and-13 pass gained just 11 on the opening snap of the fourth quarter and a field goal was the result
But with Alabama’s defense forcing four-straight three-and-outs, there was faith it would keep the momentum going after getting shredded in the first half. Tide safety Jordan Battle said there was some foreshadowing for what happened in College Station.
“We didn’t practice like we usually would,” he said, “and it bit us tonight. We just have to be able to bring the intensity in practice up or things like this will happen again.”
Then on the final Alabama drive, a three-and-out included a drop from tight end Jahleel Billingsley on a play that would have gone for a first down. Saban mentioned both of those moments while noting the breakdowns that contributed to the loss.
Before turning things around, Young was intercepted in the end zone after driving to the 1-yard line in the first half. He finished the night 28-for-48 with a career-high 369 yards, three touchdowns and the interception.
“I just have to do a better job of putting us in a better place,” Young said. “That’s something we talk about a lot and its inexcusable and we can’t turn it over.”
This was also a night where an overlooked, starter-because-of-injury in Texas A&M passer Zach Calzada made a statement. He completed his first 10 passes of the night and 21 of his 31 total for 285 yards and three touchdowns. The sophomore appeared to injure his knee on the game-tying touchdown -- spending a minute or two on the turf before being helped off -- only to return and lead the game-winning march.
This is the same quarterback who was 18-for-38 in his first start on Sept. 11 in a 10-7 win over Colorado. In consecutive losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State, he managed just 151 and 135 yards respectively before going to halftime 13-for-14 with 183 passing yards against Alabama.
The Crimson Tide, however, figured things out defensively for almost the entire second half. It allowed just 10 Aggie yards in the third quarter.
That allowed the Tide to score the 20 straight points and take a 38-31 lead with five minutes to go only to watch the Aggies record the final 10 points.
It spoiled a huge night by Alabama running back Brian Robinson who ran for 147 yards on 24 carries while catching four passes for 60 yards. Jameson Williams had a career-high 10 catches -- seven after halftime when he had 129 of his 146 receiving yards.
Williams’ touchdown and two-point conversion brought Alabama all the way back to take the 38-31 lead. That was before Calzada mustered enough magic to pull the upset as a 17-point underdog on a field-storming night in College Station.
“I think everybody needs to remember how they feel and not forget it,” Saban said, “because when I talk about having respect for winning, that’s what I mean. You want to avoid the feeling you have when you lose.”
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.
The Link LonkOctober 10, 2021 at 05:13PM
https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2021/10/when-texas-am-trap-game-teaches-alabama-hard-lessons.html
When Texas A&M ‘trap game’ teaches Alabama hard lessons - AL.com
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