Broadcast legend Verne Lundquist previews A&M-Alabama

Key quotes from Verne Lundquist interview

"I think the game in Tuscaloosa two years ago was one of the more memorable in the 15 years I've been part of the SEC package."

“That was kind of the Aggies welcome to the SEC moment and to come in here and knock of a #1 team as they did and to do it in the manner in which they did was a pretty serious announcement of Texas A&M’s presence in the SEC.”

“I think A&M is a team somewhere between what we saw in South Carolina and the past two week. The win at South Carolina seems light years away. As we have seen, South Carolina is not as strong as advertised in the summer. Maybe that win way back in the first game of the year was not as serious of a victory as it was thought to be at the time.”

“Ole Miss is pretty good and Mississippi State is pretty good. Nobody saw that at the beginning of the year. The Aggies have been handled by two teams from Mississippi, but I do think they're somewhere in between. I think A&M is very, very young and that 8-4 would be a heck of a season for the Aggies."

"I wouldn't want to be a local beat report in Tuscaloosa or Birmingham. They got a rant on Monday and another on Wednesday from Saban. I think all that is Nick Saban’s frustration with his own team, and I think it’s a way he can express that frustration.”

"Alabama's lost one game ... I still think Saban is the best coach in the business, and he's proven that over the long run. I also don't think Alabama is as good as they have been in the past. The critics really jumped on him last week when they didn't look good offensively against Arkansas last week."

"You can't replace Johnny Manziel. I hope Kenny Hill understands that and that he brings different talents to the field. We just spent 45 minutes on the phone with Kevin Sumlin, Mark Snyder and Jake Spavital, and Gary Danielson was asking Spavital about using Kenny more in the run game a la Johnny Manziel. Spavital said that they used to run a quarterback draw on the first play of the game because Manziel loved getting hit, it got him into the game right away. Jake then laughed and said that Hill is more of a 'normal person'."

“So much of Manziel's ability was in his improvisation. He’s the great improvisational player I think I’ve ever seen. So Kenny Hill, in my view, is much more of a traditional quarterback, but I think they can involve him in the run game. He's had these critical turnovers in the last few games, and all three coaches said that those have to stop.”

“In order for A&M to win this game, I think they have to control the line of scrimmage. Ole Miss did a wonderful job and kept Amari Cooper in front of them and limited him. You look at the stats and he had nine catches for only 91 yards, and I say only because he was averaging 120+ yards per game. It's important to not let him get behind the secondary and that will be a challenge for the Aggies."

“Alabama is not running the ball very well right now. Danielson is of the opinion that they are going to let Blake Sims go on the ground tomorrow. I would think that containing him, who is a runner, is going to be critical. Then on the other side of the ball, Alabama's secondary isn't the strongest part of the team. If you can get around the perimeter around Alabama, you have a pretty good shot of establishing things."

“I grew up in Texas, and I've long admired the Aggies, their student body and the educational opportunities there. Since I went to the SEC, it’s great to have an old friend, and I consider Texas A&M an old friend.”