Texas A&M Football
Post-Game Review: Alabama 49, Texas A&M 42
September 14, 2013
5,171
The biggest game in Kyle Field history turned out to be the biggest disappointment as Texas A&M fell, 49-42, to two-time defending national champion Alabama on Saturday afternoon.
The Aggies roared out to an early 14-0 lead, but mistakes and missed opportunities led to their demise. Here’s a look at the game’s highlights and lowlights.
Rising: Johnny Manziel’s Heisman Trophy candidacy. Seriously, in spite of the loss, how can anyone deny that Manziel boosted his Heisman campaign? Manziel passed for 464 yards and rushed for 98 for 562 yards of total offense against Alabama. Repeat that … against Alabama.
Falling: A&M’s national championship hopes. True, Alabama lost to Texas A&M last November and still won the national title, so a trip to Pasadena is still a possibility. But the difference then was Texas A&M already had two conferences losses, so even after the upset the Aggies still trailed Alabama in the West Division standings.
TexAgs
Honeycutt and the defense nearly put A&M back in the game in the fourth, but their inability to get stops otherwise undid the Aggies.
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Sure, three-fourths of the season remains, but A&M is now essentially two games behind Alabama in the SEC West race and the Crimson Tide has a favorable schedule remaining.
Best hit: Alabama faced second-and-one at the Aggies’ one-yard line and seemed primed to notch a win-sealing touchdown. But A&M safety Clay Honeycutt stepped in a hole and delivered a solid hit that forced T.J. Yeldon to fumble. Shaan Washington recovered at the four-yard line to keep the Aggies in contention.
Best hands: Three plays after Jenkins’ hit and Washington’s fumble recovery, Mike Evans got behind the Alabama secondary and contorted his body to haul in a long pass from Manziel that he turned into a 95-yard touchdown. It was the second-longest touchdown pass in A&M history.
Turning point: On one of the few mistakes Manziel made, his third quarter pass early in the third quarter bounced off receiver Travis Labhart and into the hands of Alabama’s Vinnie Sunseri. Sunseri returned the interception 73 yards for a touchdown to give the Crimson Tide a 35-14 lead. Although the Aggies fought back, the three-touchdown deficit was just too much to overcome.
Standing 'O': Evans caught seven passes for 279 yards and a touchdown to set a single-game A&M record for receiving yardage. He eclipsed the previous standard of 250 yards set by Ken McLean against Texas in 1965. It was the fifth 100-yard receiving game in Evans’ career and the fourth most receiving yards in SEC history. His total was just 24 yards short of the SEC record set by Arkansas’ Cobi Hamilton last year.
The Aggies roared out to an early 14-0 lead, but mistakes and missed opportunities led to their demise. Here’s a look at the game’s highlights and lowlights.
Rising: Johnny Manziel’s Heisman Trophy candidacy. Seriously, in spite of the loss, how can anyone deny that Manziel boosted his Heisman campaign? Manziel passed for 464 yards and rushed for 98 for 562 yards of total offense against Alabama. Repeat that … against Alabama.
Falling: A&M’s national championship hopes. True, Alabama lost to Texas A&M last November and still won the national title, so a trip to Pasadena is still a possibility. But the difference then was Texas A&M already had two conferences losses, so even after the upset the Aggies still trailed Alabama in the West Division standings.
TexAgs
Honeycutt and the defense nearly put A&M back in the game in the fourth, but their inability to get stops otherwise undid the Aggies.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"Honeycutt and the defense nearly put A&M back in the game in the fourth, but their inability to get stops otherwise undid the Aggies.","MediaItemID":34957}
Best hit: Alabama faced second-and-one at the Aggies’ one-yard line and seemed primed to notch a win-sealing touchdown. But A&M safety Clay Honeycutt stepped in a hole and delivered a solid hit that forced T.J. Yeldon to fumble. Shaan Washington recovered at the four-yard line to keep the Aggies in contention.
Best hands: Three plays after Jenkins’ hit and Washington’s fumble recovery, Mike Evans got behind the Alabama secondary and contorted his body to haul in a long pass from Manziel that he turned into a 95-yard touchdown. It was the second-longest touchdown pass in A&M history.
Turning point: On one of the few mistakes Manziel made, his third quarter pass early in the third quarter bounced off receiver Travis Labhart and into the hands of Alabama’s Vinnie Sunseri. Sunseri returned the interception 73 yards for a touchdown to give the Crimson Tide a 35-14 lead. Although the Aggies fought back, the three-touchdown deficit was just too much to overcome.
Standing 'O': Evans caught seven passes for 279 yards and a touchdown to set a single-game A&M record for receiving yardage. He eclipsed the previous standard of 250 yards set by Ken McLean against Texas in 1965. It was the fifth 100-yard receiving game in Evans’ career and the fourth most receiving yards in SEC history. His total was just 24 yards short of the SEC record set by Arkansas’ Cobi Hamilton last year.
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