For the Alabama Crimson Tide going forward, every game is essentially considered as a must-win.
As a result of back-to-back defeats the last two weeks, Alabama now enters Week 8 with two losses on their regular season resume, meaning the Crimson Tide now sit firmly on the College Football Playoff bubble. Because of this, a potential third loss for the Crimson Tide would be very costly to their CFP aspirations, and the road ahead to avoid that will certainly not be easy, starting this Saturday against Texas A&M.
Despite a record of 4-3 overall (1-3 SEC), the Aggies certainly have the talent needed to come into Tuscaloosa and leave with a win. This will be a tough matchup for the Crimson Tide, even despite Alabama being heavily favored at home.
Here are three Crimson Tide predictions for this Saturday's SEC matchup in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama has 150+ rushing yards, three touchdowns
Last week against Tennessee was one of Alabama's least productive rushing performances of the season, amassing only 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground across 26 attempts. I'll predict the Crimson Tide run game to bounce back Saturday against the Texas A&M defense though, a unit that is allowing the SEC's fifth-most rushing yards per game to opponents at 141.7.
Alabama forces two Marcel Reed interceptions
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed has struggled at times this season with interceptions, throwing six over seven games played. On the flip side, Alabama's defense ranks second in the SEC with 10 interceptions so far this season, a total which I'll predict the Crimson Tide add to Saturday afternoon by picking off Reed at-least twice.
Alabama wins special teams battle over Aggies
Texas A&M comes to Tuscaloosa with a roster featuring two of the SEC's top special teams players in David Olano and Tyler White, who currently lead the conference in made field goals and average yards per punt, respectively. A pair of key players for the Aggies, I'll predict it is Alabama's specialists who have a better showing Saturday in Conor Talty and Alex Asparuhov.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: 3 predictions for Alabama vs. Texas A&M in crucial SEC showdown