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Texas A&M Football

By The Numbers: Texas A&M 41, Alabama 38

October 11, 2021
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Here’s a statistical look, by the numbers, at the Aggies’ epic 41-38 win over top-ranked and defending champion Alabama Saturday night at Kyle Field...

0 - Sacks allowed in the game by A&M on offense. It’s the first game all season that the Aggies did not give up a sack. A&M entered the contest ranked #85 nationally in sacks allowed per game. The Aggies were +4 in the sack department, as Tyree Johnson (2), Micheal Clemons and Leon O’Neal each got to the quarterback on Saturday.

1 - Losses for Nick Saban in a game in which the opposing head coach was a former assistant of his. The legendary Alabama head coach had been 24-0 in these meetings prior to Saturday.

2 - Turnovers forced on defense in the win. Coming into the game, the Aggies had just 1 takeaway this season in 12 quarters vs. Power 5 opponents, including 0 turnovers in 11 consecutive quarters vs. a Power 5 opponent prior to Saturday. A&M was +1 in the TO department against the Crimson Tide.

2 - Signature wins at Kyle Field (Florida in 2020 and Alabama in 2021) for Jimbo Fisher on the same calendar weekend (Jimbo’s birthday weekend and that of Mike Elko’s mother, who was in attendance for both games) in back-to-back seasons ... both by the exact score of 41-38 and both ending in walk-off field goals to win the game.

#2 - National ranking for A&M speedster Devon Achane in kick return average (43.6) and in kick returns over 30 yards (4). Achane’s 96-yard return for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter was the 16th-longest return in program history.

3 - Wins all-time for the Aggies against an AP No. 1 ranked team. The other 2 occasions were November 9, 2002 vs. Oklahoma at Kyle Field and November 10, 2012 at Alabama. A&M is one of only 8 teams in college football that has multiple wins over an AP No. 1 ranked team since 2000.

4 - Offensive plays over 20 yards against the Tide. All 4 were passes from Zach Calzada ... a 25-yard touchdown strike to Ainias Smith to tie the game in the 4th quarter, a 27-yard touchdown pass and a 34-yard pass to Jalen Wydermyer in the 1st quarter and a 33-yard pass to Devon Achane in the 2nd quarter.

5 - Pass plays allowed over 20 yards against Alabama. The A&M defense entered the Arkansas game as is the only team in FBS that had not allowed a single pass play of 20+ yards but the Aggies have allowed 16 passes of 20-plus yards in their 3 SEC games. Interestingly, only 4 of the 16 long passes have gone over 30 yards (A&M is 5th nationally in passes of 30-plus yards allowed).

5 - The number of teams in FBS that have not recovered a fumble this season ... and thanks to Leon O’Neal’s recovery of Brian Robinson’s 1st quarter fumble, A&M is no longer one of those teams. The Aggies forced just 4 turnovers through their first 5 games - all interceptions - but had a fumble recovery and an interception against the Tide.

#9 - Ranking for tight end Jalen Wydermyer on the A&M receiving touchdowns list. Wydermyer now has 14 TD catches, moving him into a tie with Tony Harrison (1990-93). Meanwhile, Ainias Smith’s 2 TD grabs gives him 13 for his career, tying Albert Connell for 11th all-time at A&M.

#11 - A&M’s national ranking in sacks this season. The Aggies got to Alabama QB Bryce Young 4 times on Saturday and now has 19 sacks through 6 games. Georgia (22) and Florida (20) are the only SEC teams with more.

11.0 - “Havoc Rate” for the A&M defense in the game. Havoc Rate is an advanced metric from longtime stat man Bill Connelly that is determined by calculating the total number of tackles-for-loss, passes defended (including INTs) and forced fumbles divided by the total number of plays. The Aggies had 1 interceptions, 0 forced fumbles (Robinson’s fumble was not “forced” on the stat sheet), 3 pass breakups and 5 TFL (1 sacks / 1 run TFL) vs. Alabama. That’s 9 “Havoc points” divided by 82 defensive snaps for a game rating of 11.0, meaning that the Aggies created havoc on exactly 11.0% of the Tide’s offensive snaps. For the season, A&M’s Havoc Rate is 17.5 (74 havoc points in 423 defensive snaps). Last season, the Ags had a Havoc Rate of 19.1 and it was 18.6 in ’19. A&M ranked 5th in the nation in 2018 with a Havoc Rate of 20.4.

19 - Consecutive wins for the Crimson Tide prior to falling to the Aggies. That was the nation’s longest winning streak entering the game.

36.84% - A&M’s Red Zone TD% on defense this season. That ranks #9 nationally. On Saturday, the Tide moved the ball inside the A&M 20-yard line on 6 occasions but came away with just 2 touchdowns on those drives.

67.8% - Completion percentage in the game for Calzada. The third-year signal caller went 21-of-31 for 285 yards and 3 TDs, including 90 yards in the last 2 drives of the game and a 25-yard TD pass to Ainias Smith to tie the game late. Calzada opened the game completing his first 10 passes.

91.7% - Field goal percentage this season for kicker Seth Small after going a perfect 2-of-2 on Saturday with field goals of 38 and 28 yards, including the 28-yard game-winner. Small is 11-of-12 on the season, including a perfect 11-of-11 on kicks inside of 50 yards.

100 - Consecutive wins for Alabama against unranked opponents before falling to the Aggies. Nick Saban’s last loss to an unranked opponent was in 2007 ... to Louisiana-Monroe in his first season in Tuscaloosa.

143 - Yardage differential in favor of Alabama in the game ... a week after going -141 in the total yards department vs. Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide gained 522 yards on 82 plays while the Aggies gained 379 yards on only 58 plays. A&M had just 22 yards total in the 2nd half up until a 6-play, 65-yard scoring drive to tie the game late in the 4th and an 8-play, 54-yard drive to set up the Seth Small game-winning field goal as time expired.

369 - Passing yards allowed by the A&M defense against Bryce Young and the Tide. Rogers was 28-of-48 for 369 yards and 3 TDs.

106,815 - Number of people who witnessed the game in person. That’s the second-largest crowd in Kyle Field history (only trailing a 2014 game against Ole Miss during the mid-construction season in which A&M’s capacity surpassed 110K for one year).



A&M in national stat rankings

Offense
• Total O = #84 (376.8 YPG)
• Scoring O = #83 (26.8 PPG)
• Rushing O = #80 (155.3YPG)
• Passing O = #78 (221.5 YPG)
• Yards Per Play = #62 (5.93 YPP)
• First Downs = #87 (19.8 PG)
• 3rd Down Conversions = #54 (41.46%)
• Red Zone TD% = #111 (47.37% - 9-of-19)
• Explosiveness = #86 (23 plays over 20 yards)
    - #60 with 12 plays over 30 yards
    - #50 with 7 plays over 40 yards
    - #36 with 4 plays over 50 yards
    - #20 with 3 play over 60 yards
    - #30 with 1 play over 70 yards
•  Explosive Run Plays = #59 (7 plays over 20 yards)
    - #16 with 6 plays over 30 yards
    - #5 with 5 plays over 40 yards
    - #20 with 2 plays over 50 yards
    - #7 with 2 plays over 60 yards
• Explosive Pass Plays = #82 (16 plays over 20 yards)
    - #93 with 6 plays over 30 yards
    - #95 with 2 plays over 40 yards
    - #47 with 2 plays over 50 yards
    - #44 with 1 play over 60 yards
    - #19 with 1 play over 70 yards
• Sacks Allowed Per Game = #62 (2.0 PG ... 12 total)
• Tackles For Loss Allowed Per Game = #72 (6.0 PG ... 36 total)

Defense
• Total D = #52 (353.5 YPG)
• Scoring D = #17 (16.8 PPG)
• Rushing D = #63 (144.3 YPG)
• Passing D = #45 (209.2 YPG)
• Yards Per Play Allowed = #35 (5.01 YPP)
• First Downs Allowed = #52 (19.2 PG)
• Opponent 3rd Down Conversions = #45 (35.56%)
• Opponent Red Zone TD% = #9 (36.84% - 7-of-19)
• Explosiveness Against = #35 (21 plays allowed over 20 yards)
    - #10 with 6 plays allowed over 30 yards
    - #24 with 3 plays allowed over 40 yards
    - #15 with 1 play allowed over 50 yards
    - #44 with 1 play allowed over 60 yards
    - #70 with 1 play allowed over 70 yards
    - #101 with 1 play allowed over 80 yards
• Explosive Run Plays Against = #36 (5 plays allowed over 20 yards)
    - #36 with 2 plays allowed over 30 yards
    - #1 with 0 plays allowed over 40 yards
• Explosive Pass Plays Against = #41 (16 plays allowed over 20 yards)
    - #5 with 4 plays allowed over 30 yards
    - #35 with 3 plays allowed over 40 yards
    - #29 with 1 play allowed over 50 yards
    - #54 with 1 play allowed over 60 yards
    - #89 with 1 play allowed over 70 yards
    - #114 with 1 play allowed over 80 yards
• Sacks = #11 (3.17 PG ... 19 total)
• Tackles For Loss = #22 (7.0 PG ... 42 total)
• Interceptions = #49 (5)
• Fumble Recoveries = #108 (1)

Team
• Time of Possession = #69 (29:41)
• Turnover Margin = #111 (-4)
• Penalties = #101 with 7.3 penalties per game
    - #79 with 59.0 penalty yards per game

Special Teams
• Field Goal % = #42 (84.6% - 11-of-13)
• Punting = #30 (45.57 Avg.)
• Kick Returns = #2 (43.6 Avg.)
• Explosive Kick Returns = #3 (4 returns over 30 yards)
• Opponent Kick Returns Average = #109 (25.0 yards per return)
• Explosive Kick Returns Allowed = #40 (1 return allowed over 30 yards)
• Punt Returns = #49 (9.53 yards per return)
• Explosive Punt Returns = #16 (2 returns over 20 yards)
    - #6 with 2 returns over 30 yards
• Opponent Punt Returns Average = #53 (6.2 yards per return)
• Explosive Punt Returns Allowed = #69 (1 return allowed over 20 yards)

Individual
• QB Zach Calzada = #85 in passing yards per game (171.5 YPG); #57 in passing TDs (8): #91 in completion percentage (56.5%); #68 in QBR (58.8)
    - #88 in passes over 30 yards (5)

• RB Isaiah Spiller = #36 in rushing yards (491); #87 in yards per carry (5.8); #42 in yards from scrimmage (640)
    - #37 in runs over 10 yards (14); #72 in runs over 20 yards (3); #15 in runs over 30 yards (3); #4 in runs over 40 yards (3); #22 in runs over 50 yards (1)
    - #8 in runs over 60 yards (1)

• RB Devon Achane = #38 in yards per carry (6.6 Avg.)
    - #72 in runs over 20 yards (3); #15 in runs over 30 yards (3); #13 in runs over 40 yards (2); #22 in runs over 50 yards (1); #8 in runs over 60 yards (1)
    - #2 in kick return average (43.6); #2 in kick returns over 30 yards (4)

• WR Ainias Smith = #85 in receptions (26); #35 in receiving TDs (4); #20 in punt return average (10.13 Avg.)
    - #7 in punt returns over 20 yards (2); #5 in punt returns over 30 yards (2)

• WR Demond Demas = #40 in catches over 50 yards (1); #16 in catches over 60 yards (1); #7 in catches over 70 yards (1)

• DL DeMarvin Leal = #23 in sacks (4.5); #45 in tackles-for-loss (6.5)

• DL Micheal Clemons = #39 in sacks per game (0.70 PG ... 3.5 total); #64 in tackles-for-loss per game (1.10 PG ... 5.5 total)

• LB Aaron Hansford = #64 in tackles (45)

• CB Tyreek Chappell = #58 in pass breakups (4)

• S/N Antonio Johnson = #46 in tackles (47); #58 in pass breakups (4)

• S Leon O’Neal = #22 in interceptions (2); #12 in passes defended (7); #31 in pass breakups (5)

• PK Seth Small = #17 in field goal % (91.7% - 11-of-12)

• P Nik Constantinou = #11 in punting average (47.26 Avg.)

Discussion from...

By The Numbers: Texas A&M 41, Alabama 38

5,748 Views | 4 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by sharpdressedman
Meximan
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One of only 8
MaroonStain
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AG
Love this segment. Thank you, Gabe.

Onto Mizzou...
Angry Beaver
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AG
What about number of Defensive Delay of Game penalties? Are we the only team to get any this year?
sharpdressedman
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Wonderful content! Thank you.
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