Key No. 2: The Texas A&M football team needs to win the turnover battle by a significant margin
I know the phrasing of the sentence above seems odd — winning the turnover battle against Alabama by a “significant margin” seems unlikely. That said, usually, turnovers are what cause upsets, and the Aggies will be pulling one of the biggest upsets of the season if they beat ‘Bama.
In five games, take a guess at how many times the Aggies have won the turnover battle this season. Twice? Three times?
Try zero times.
Not only has this hurt Texas A&M on the score sheet, but it has hurt the perception of this team. The defense has been on the field more frequently than it should be and the offense has been on the field less frequently than it should be. The Aggies rank 102nd in turnover margin on the season at -3.
If Jimbo Fisher’s team can take care of the football, this will be a much closer game than many fans and experts think. Heck, even if the Aggies keep the turnover margin level, I think this will be a close game. End up +2 on turnovers and you might have an upset on your hands.