GAME SNAPSHOT
KICKOFF: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
SITE: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
TV: CBS
SERIES: Alabama leads 2-1. Alabama won 27-19 in 2017.
RANKINGS: Texas A&M No. 22, Alabama No. 1
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aggies
–QB Kellen Mond, a sophomore, has proven to be one of the best gunslingers in the SEC so far in 2018. Through three games, he has 824 yards passing on a 62.9 completion rate with six touchdowns and zero interceptions. “Every play matters,” Mond said. “With their defense they try to force you to make mistakes. That’s something we’ll have to do — minimize mistakes, minimize negative plays. I always feel confident in the offensive line, the running backs and receivers to make plays, so I feel like we’re going to be fine going in there.”
–RB Trayveon Williams, a junior, leads the SEC with 133 rushing yards per game, which ranks No. 6 in the FBS. His 240 yards in Week 1 against Northwestern State were the second-most in school history. Williams is also the only active FBS player with 200-plus yard efforts in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
–TE Jace Sternberger is only fourth on the Aggies’ roster in receiving yards with 146, has a team-high three touchdowns. He has had at least one 20-plus yard catch in each game so far. With Alabama’s versatility in all facets on defense, Sternberger will be asked to be both a reliable pass-catcher as well as a stout run-blocker.
–DE Landis Durham leads Texas A&M with 3.5 tackles for a loss. His lone sack is also tied for a team-high. Getting negative plays against Bama will be a key for the Aggies, and Durham is arguably the most capable defender to break into the Alabama backfield to create those opportunities.
Crimson Tide
–QB Tua Tagovailoa has become a frontrunner for the Heisman following his hot start for No. 1 Alabama. He is second nationally with a passing ranking of 233.3, having completed 36-of-50 passes for 646 yards, with eight touchdowns and no interceptions. He has directed 20 drives, with 14 of them ending in touchdowns and another resulting in a field goal. He is 13-of-13 for 298 yards and six touchdowns on third-down plays.
–WR Jerry Jeudy, a sophomore, leads the SEC with six receiving touchdowns. He had three catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns last week against Ole Miss.
–LB Christian Miller, a senior, was selected the SEC Defensive Player of the Week after his performance against Ole Miss, when he posted a career-high 2.5 sacks. He finished with five tackles overall. He and the Alabama defense held the Rebels — who had been averaging 54.5 points — to only seven points.
–PK Joseph Bulovas made his first start last week and contributed field goals of 20 and 44 yards, while hitting all eight of his PAT attempts. Bulovas also kicked off 11 times, with seven going for touchbacks after replacing Austin Jones.
KEYS
TO THE GAME
No more “rat poison” this time.
After rolling to five big wins to start the season last year, Alabama nearly stumbled against Texas A&M before getting a 27-19 victory, leading Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban to blame “rat poison” — his term for the praise that had been heaped upon his players — for the struggle.
Saban has come up with a slightly different warning this time as the top-ranked Tide (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) prepares to take on No. 22 Texas A&M (2-1, 0-0 SEC) Saturday.
Kickoff on CBS is 3:39 p.m. ET at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
“It’s like climbing a mountain,” Saban said. “The higher you go, the more challenging it gets and the greater the focus needs to be and the more treacherous it can be. This is the best team we’ve played so far, so, hopefully, we’ll be able to continue to improve and have the right focus.
“So, I guess in a different way, trying to be really diplomatic, I’m sort of saying the same thing.”
Texas A&M is in its first season under coach Jimbo Fisher, brought from Florida State with the hope of bringing a national championship to the Aggies. But even considering the fight they gave to then-No. 2 Clemson in a 28-26 loss two weeks ago, the Aggies are in the infant stages of building a national contender.
“We’re just trying to get better tomorrow,” Fisher said. “That’s what we need to focus on. We have to learn how to practice, learn how to prepare and get ready to play in the next game.
“It doesn’t matter who you play, it’s how you play. We’ve got to set our own standard and look in the mirror to the standards we want. If you do that, then you can worry about somebody else. Most of the time you quit worrying about them because you can take care of yourself.”
This will be the first ranked foe for Alabama.
With lopsided wins against Northwestern State (59-7) and ULM (48-10), Texas A&M is fifth in the nation in total offense, averaging 596.3 yards per game..
“They’ve got really good players in a lot of positions on both sides of the ball and special teams,” said Saban, who is looking to go 13-0 against his former assistants. “Obviously, that was pretty much the indication when they played Clemson. Probably had, arguably, a lot of opportunities to win the game and at the end it didn’t really work out for them.”
Aggies junior running back Trayveon Williams leads the SEC in rushing (133.0 per game) and sophomore quarterback Kellen Mond is averaging 274.0 yards a game passing with six touchdown passes.
“They’ve got great balance,” Saban said.
The real match may be on the other side of the ball. The Aggies returned a lot of defensive starters but have a new defensive coordinator, Mike Elko, who was last at Notre Dame.
“They’re really solid within their scheme, and they also have a lot of veteran guys, a lot of experience,” Alabama junior left tackle Jonah Williams said. “I know they have a ton of returning starters on defense.”
Linebackers Otaro Alaka (16 tackles) and Tyrel Dodson (15) and safety Donovan Wilson (15) lead the way.
“They have a bunch of different players who have a lot of experience across the board and being an SEC defense, they’ve played against plenty of good run offenses,” Williams said. “So, I think they pose a good challenge for us. We like to take on challenges.”
Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is second nationally in passer efficiency and hasn’t even played a full game yet. Behind him junior quarterback Jalen Hurts also getting significant playing time.
Alabama’s ability to sustain long drives may only be exceeded by the quick-strike ability of the receiving corps led by sophomore Jerry Jeudy, who has already scored six touchdowns, one more than first-round draft pick Calvin Ridley tallied for Alabama last year.
“They’ve opened it up more,” Fisher said.
