Dominant ground game helps Alabama demolish Texas A&M 59-0
This one was ugly.
On a day when everything went right for No. 7 Alabama, everything went wrong for No. 21 Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide overwhelmed the Aggies from the start and poured 45 first-half points on the porous A&M defense in an eventual 59-0 home win.
A week after Alabama coach Nick Saban voiced his frustration with a fan base that was disappointed after the Tide beat Arkansas by just one point, Saban’s squad put all of the chatter to rest.
The star of the game was Alabama’s offensive line as a whole. From the start, Bama absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage. When all was said and done, the Tide put up a whopping 298 yards on the ground on 45 attempts – a 6.6 yards-per-rush average.
The balanced attack of T.J. Yeldon (13 rushes, 114 yards, 2 TDs) and Derrick Henry (10 rushes, 70 yards, 1 TD) set up an efficient play-action passing game from Blake Sims. Sims, who also had a highlight-reel 43-yard touchdown on the ground, completed 16-of-27 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Standout junior Amari Cooper hauled in eight of those passes for 140 yards and two scores.
It could have been a lot worse, too. The Tide largely took its foot off the gas in the second half, scoring only 14 points.
Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide defense swarmed the young Aggies all day long. A&M came into the ballgame third in the country by averaging 396 passing yards per game. The Aggies managed just 141 yards through the air and 172 yards total Saturday as Kenny Hill was kept in check.
The loss marked the first time in Kevin Sumlin’s seven-year head coaching career that one of his teams failed to register a single point. It’s also the first three-game losing streak for the Aggies during Sumlin’s tenure. What was supposed to be an improved A&M defense has now given up 142 points in its last three games. Yikes.
For all the talk that Alabama was regressing after the Ole Miss loss, this game looks to be an emphatic statement from Saban’s squad.
The Ole Miss loss certainly hurts, but with games against Auburn and undefeated Mississippi State (both at home) still on the schedule, the Crimson Tide, now 6-1, cannot be counted out. That goes for the SEC and on a national level – especially after Baylor suffered its first lost of the season earlier in the day.
Next on the schedule for the Tide is a road contest with Tennessee. A&M has a bye before it should be able to get back on track at home against Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 1.
For more Alabama news, visit TideSports.com.
For more Texas A&M news, visit AggieYell.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
