Texas A&M picked up a dominant win over The Citadel this past weekend, a nice reprieve after a few lackluster performances put a damper on the early portion of the campaign. Unfortunately, the schedule does not offer much time to enjoy it.
The Aggies will travel to Tuscaloosa on Saturday to face No. 13 Alabama in a pivotal SEC matchup, one that presents a considerably different challenge than the one Texas A&M just handled.
Texas A&M will certainly enter as the underdog, and one win in Tuscaloosa would not erase everything that has gone wrong to this point. It could, however, turn the tide — pun absolutely intended — and bring some much-needed optimism back to College Station.
Which version of Alabama will the Aggies get? That question has become more complicated over the last few weeks and could decide which team wins the game.
Here is everything to know about the Crimson Tide entering Saturday’s matchup.
The Keelon Russell Roller Coaster
There is little doubt about what Keelon Russell can do for Alabama when everything is working.
The redshirt freshman raises the ceiling of the Crimson Tide offense with a combination of arm talent and mobility that can turn a normal play into something dangerous. That ability has been apparent in Alabama’s impressive wins over Kentucky, Florida State and Mississippi State, with Russell repeatedly extending plays and forcing defenses to account for him long after the original design has broken down.
The other side of the equation has been less pleasant.
Russell is still a redshirt freshman playing quarterback at Alabama, which comes with a rather unforgiving learning curve. The flashes of brilliance have been accompanied by stretches in which the growing pains have directly hurt the Crimson Tide.
That was especially apparent during back-to-back losses to Georgia and Tennessee. Russell was relatively pedestrian in both games, and the Tennessee loss was particularly damaging, as he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Neyland Stadium appeared to rattle Alabama throughout the afternoon, and Russell was unable to provide the kind of improvisational spark that has made him so dangerous elsewhere this season.
Which Russell arrives Saturday will have a significant say in how competitive Texas A&M can make this game. Alabama gets the benefit of returning home, and the Aggies have not consistently produced the kind of defense Russell saw against Georgia and Tennessee.
Texas A&M probably needs a bad day at the office from the young quarterback. The challenge will be forcing one.
Texas A&M’s History Against Alabama
History has not exactly been kind to Texas A&M in this series.
Alabama owns a 13-3 all-time advantage against the Aggies, including a 6-1 record in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide won the most recent meeting 26-20 in 2023.
The three Texas A&M victories, though, have managed to become rather memorable pieces of Aggies history.
The first came in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day in 1968, when Texas A&M stunned Alabama 20-16 in one of the biggest victories in program history.
Then came 2012. Johnny Manziel walked into Tuscaloosa and delivered the performance that helped announce him to the rest of the country, leading Texas A&M to a 29-24 win during the Aggies’ first SEC season. Nine years later, A&M produced another upset, this time beating Alabama 41-38 in College Station on a field goal as time expired.
Beating Alabama is a novelty for the Aggies. It’s not something that comes around all that often. When the team has been able to pull out a win, people tend to remember it.
Alabama Cannot Afford Another Loss
Texas A&M is trying to change the direction of its season. Alabama is trying to prevent its own from slipping away entirely.
The Crimson Tide enter Saturday having lost consecutive conference games to Georgia and Tennessee, leaving almost no margin for another mistake. A third SEC loss would likely remove Alabama from realistic contention for the conference championship, barring an unusually chaotic finish around the league, and could do the same to its College Football Playoff hopes.
Those expectations matter differently in Tuscaloosa than they do almost anywhere else.
Alabama is expected to contend for championships every season, and anything substantially below that standard invites questions quickly. That pressure extends to head coach Kalen DeBoer, who is still trying to firmly establish his version of the program after replacing Nick Saban following the 2023 season.
A loss to Texas A&M would not simply be another disappointing Saturday. It would create an entirely different conversation about where Alabama’s season — and perhaps the program under DeBoer — is headed.
How to Watch Texas A&M vs. Alabama
Texas A&M and Alabama will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The game will be televised nationally on ABC.
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