Texas A&M football: 5 takeaways from loss at Alabama
By Jeff Shull
Texas A&M football has a lot of soul-searching to do after a big loss to No. 1-ranked Alabama on the road. Here are five takeaways from the game.
Ouch. That word alone about sums up this game. Texas A&M football went into Tuscaloosa hoping to prove they could hang with the nation’s best. Instead, they proved they still have a long way to go if they want to compete for SEC and National Championships.
It’s time to point out the obvious here: Alabama is one of the most talented teams of all time on paper. They did replace several starters who are playing football professionally now, but this current team has players from three straight No. 1 recruiting classes in 2015-2017. Every one of those players that didn’t transfer is currently on this squad. The talent pool is ridiculous.
That showed up on the field today. Alabama looked better, faster and stronger in just about every aspect. The Aggies did all they could to keep in close early. In the end, the Tide was just too much and overwhelmed Texas A&M.
Even though the score was lopsided, there were still plenty of things that happened in this game that you wouldn’t see from the previous regime. A&M took a punch in the mouth real early, surrendering a turnover on their second play and allowing a touchdown pass on Alabama’s first play. It was 7-0 after 50 seconds.
Things could have turned ugly after A&M went three-and-out on the following possession, but the defense locked in and forced a punt which Alabama downed inside the 1-yard line. Kellen Mond and the offense responded with a 99-yard touchdown drive. Even though it was for just a moment, it’s clear this A&M team is going to fight to the bitter end.
Let’s take a look at some things we learned from this game.