Tide escape with 24-20 win over Aggies

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - It took a goal line stand from top ranked Alabama on the game’s final play that allowed the Crimson Tide to hold off Texas A&M, 24-20, Saturday night inside a sold-out Bryant-Denny Stadium. Texas A&M had an opportunity to win it on the game’s final play, but quarterback Hayes King’s pass to the short corner of the endzone fell to the ground, moving the Tide to 6-0 on the year and 3-0 in SEC play.

For a second consecutive week, it was the Crimson Tide’s ground game that was the difference. After racking up 317 rushing yards in the win at Arkansas on Oct. 1, Alabama accounted for 293 total yards on the ground Saturday, led by running back Jahmyr Gibbs’ 154 yards on 21 carries.

Quarterback Jalen Milroe, who made his first career start in the contest, rushed for 83 yards on 17 carries while also adding 111 yards through the air on 11-of-19 throwing and three touchdown passes. Wide receiver Jermaine Burton led the Tide with 48 yards on three catches, including a touchdown, while wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks tallied 44 yards on two receptions, including a touchdown.

Defensive back Brian Branch led the Alabama defensive unit with nine tackles including two tackles for loss and two pass breakups. Cornerback Terrion Arnold finished with eight tackles and an interception while defensive back DeMarcco Hellams finished with seven tackles. Linebacker Will Anderson Jr. had just two tackles including one for loss, however, his eight quarterback hurries were the second-most in a single game in program history.

Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban Said

“I think the fans were great, I think the fans probably had as much to do with us winning the game as anything, Nick Saban said after the game. “I think the atmosphere they created certainly kept the energy level up with our players, but we did a lot of things that were not winning football. (We had) penalties, four turnovers, didn’t take advantage of opportunities in the red zone, came up empty handed a couple of times whether we missed a field goal, didn’t score a touchdown, whatever it might be. So, we have a lot of things that we can work on. We got a lot of things we need to improve on. I think everybody’s got to make a choice and decision that they’re going to do the things they need to do to play the best that they can play and be the best player that they can be. That was not our best football out there tonight. When you don’t have your quarterback playing and the second team guy has got to play, everybody has to play better. Everybody on offense has to play better, everybody on defense has to play better. Jalen (Milroe) did some good things, but he obviously had a couple of turnovers. He’s going to live and learn, and we’re going to live and learn with him. And we’ll just see what kind of progress Bryce makes for the next week. But we’re going to play a really good team next week on the road and certainly have to play a lot better to have any chance of being successful.”

Alabama Crimson Tide will face 8th ranked Tennessee next Saturday in the rivalry contest that takes place the third Saturday in October