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Texas A&M Football: 2023 Schedule Preview – Alabama

By Graham Harmon

Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban takes the stage at the 2023 SEC Football Kickoff Media Days at the Nashville Grand Hyatt on Broadway, Wednesday, July 19, 2023.
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban takes the stage at the 2023 SEC Football Kickoff Media Days at the Nashville Grand Hyatt on Broadway, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. /
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Oct 8, 2022; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Evan Stewart (1) carries the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first half at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2022; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Evan Stewart (1) carries the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first half at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports /

Last year’s game between these two squads marked quite the emergence for a couple of Texas A&M football players. Evan Stewart and Moose Muhammad began to showcase their abilities against the top defense they would face in the 2022 season. Stewart had his best game of the season, going 8 for 106, including the aforementioned clutch catch that put the Aggies in position to win the game. Muhammad dazzled with the type of circus catches we have now come to expect from him, ending the game with 6 catches, 64 yards, and a touchdown. If those two can replicate their performance in this upcoming season, you have to feel good about this Texas A&M football team’s ability to throw the ball against Bama’s star corners, especially with (hopefully) improved QB play and a friendly home crowd.

Nov 26, 2022; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) hands off the ball to running back Devon Achane (6) against the LSU Tigers during the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2022; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) hands off the ball to running back Devon Achane (6) against the LSU Tigers during the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports /

Running the ball could be a different story. The Aggies have struggled to establish a consistent running game at any point against Alabama that doesn’t feature the QB run prominently. Likely 2023 starter Conner Weigman does have the ability to use his legs, but not necessarily to the degree of, say, Kellen Mond (who had several long runs against the Tide), at least from what we have seen thus far. Weigman had several outstanding plays running the ball in high school, but mainly used his mobility to avoid the rush rather than gain yardage last year.

The plain fact is that it will be hard to run on Alabama, no matter what. It is only once in a blue moon that a team exceeds their season average in YPC or rushing success rate against this Tide defense, purely due to their talent and how sound they are technically, year in and year out.

Below are the data for YPA and YPC by year I’ve gathered from all of the matchups against Alabama since Jimbo has been head coach of Texas A&M football. I’ve noted for each matchup the degree to which the QB contributed to the run game.

  • 2018: 6.0 YPA/4.64 YPC (QB had 18 rushes for 98 yards)
  • 2019: 6.3 YPA/4.46 YPC (QB had 16 rushes for 90 yards)
  • 2020: 7.1 YPA/3.83 YPC (QB had 8 rushes for 19 yards)
  • 2021: 9.2 YPA/3.48 YPC (QB had 2 rushes for 12 yards)
  • 2022: 5.4 YPA/2.80 YPC (QB had 8 rushes for 10 yards)

You can see the steep drop-off from 2019 to 2020 in both the quarterback’s involvement in the run game and the average YPC. Utilizing Weigman’s mobility could be a big piece of the game plan to keep the Tide off-balance and maximize the efficiency of Moss, Daniels, and Owens at the RB position.

Oct 9, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Alabama defensive back DeMarcco Hellams (2) commits a critical pass interference against Texas A&M tight end Jalen Wydermyer (85) late in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. Texas A&M defeated Alabama 41-38 on a field goal as time expired. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 9, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Alabama defensive back DeMarcco Hellams (2) commits a critical pass interference against Texas A&M tight end Jalen Wydermyer (85) late in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. Texas A&M defeated Alabama 41-38 on a field goal as time expired. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports /

Another piece that must be considered, given the Aggies’ depth at the position, is the contribution of the tight ends to the passing game. Donovan Green has already made a name for himself given what he was able to accomplish last year, and Jake Johnson looks to take his turn to have a breakout season in 2023. Then there’s the intriguing piece that is Theo Mehlin Ohrstrom—both a giant and a speed demon, but rawer than the other two. Even freshman Jaden Platt could figure into the lineup at some point during the season.

Fisher has used tight ends to great effect against Alabama in the past. Here are the receiving numbers by year for Aggie TEs against the Tide since Jimbo has been the head man.

  • 2018: 3 receptions, 59 yards, 1 TD
  • 2019: 3 receptions, 49 yards, 2 TDs
  • 2020: 9 receptions, 99 yards, 1 TD
  • 2021: 3 receptions, 73 yards, 1 TD (and a clutch PI flag drawn!)
  • 2022: 2 receptions, 8 yards, 1 TD

As you can see, at least one touchdown each year has come from the tight end position for Texas A&M football when they match up against the Tide, and, with the exception of last year, you can count on the TE for huge chunk plays as well. Even with Petrino calling the plays this year, I foresee the Aggie tight ends utilizing their versatility to break open the Bama defense multiple times.

This offense has the tools to put up the required points to beat Bama. But how will the Aggie defense fare?