Opportunities elude Texas A&M in crushing 26-20 loss to No. 11 Alabama

Status among the college football elite remains painfully elusive to Texas A&M. The breakthrough victory that would establish A&M as a legitimate championship contender hovers just out of reach.

Or perhaps the Aggies (4-2, 2-1) just let it slip through their fingers. Again.

How else could A&M's 26-20 Southeastern Conference football loss to No. 11 Alabama be explained?

The Crimson Tide (5-1, 3-0) definitely beat the Aggies on Saturday afternoon. But the Aggies certainly provided assistance.

In doing so, they inadvertently showed the crowd of 108,101 at Kyle Field the difference in what makes one team extraordinary and another ordinary.

Alabama capitalized on opportunities. The Crimson Tide scored touchdowns on second-and-15, third-and-14 and third-and-9.

In contrast, A&M — as it has been prone to do — routinely squandered chances to score.

Four times the Aggies ventured into the red zone. Only once did they get a touchdown. The other three — including two inside the 10-yard line  — netted just six points.

Their first series ended with two plays failing to gain one yard needed for a first down. Then, they settled for a field goal after reaching first-and-goal at the Alabama 6-yard line on their second series.

Their final series of the game reached the 2-yard line. A holding penalty canceled a touchdown and led to another field goal.

“We have got to score touchdowns in the red zone. You got to score touchdowns in the red zone.” lamented A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, obviously frustrated. "First drive, we missed a third-and-1, and fourth-and-1 about the 20. And then we kick a field goal the second time. And then we thought Ainias [Smith] scored (in the fourth quarter). Then we thought we scored and got the (holding) penalty. You have got to score touchdowns. You have got to score touchdowns.”

Early in the fourth quarter, the Aggies would’ve gladly taken a 41-yard field goal that would’ve cut into Alabama’s 24-17 lead. It was blocked.

There were more misses.

Fisher once opted to punt on fourth-and-1 at the Alabama 45-yard line. And early in the fourth quarter, Smith broke open behind the Alabama secondary for what could’ve been a game-tying 45-yard touchdown.

Alas, Max Johnson’s pass was underthrown and fell incomplete.

Elite teams make big plays in big games. The Aggies, too often, have not. It’s apparently not in their DNA (Did Not Achieve).

“I guess you could say, this game, (Alabama) just wanted it more,” Smith said. “I mean, they came out with the win. It’s tough to point out an exact difference, you know what I’m saying? I mean, they came out, and when they was down at halftime, they never backed down. They kept fighting.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Alabama has now won 10 of the last 12 meetings against Texas A&M.

“I feel like we kept fighting. All the way towards the end, our defense was doing tremendous. We just got to capitalize more on offense.”

Smith touched on what makes this loss to Alabama so frustrating. The Aggies couldn’t take advantage of a strong defensive effort that, in the first half, frequently harassed Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe.

Milroe was sacked four times in the first half. On the strength of their ferocious pass rush, a Max Johnson touchdown pass to Jake Johnson and a Le’Veon Moss touchdown run, the Aggies held a 17-10 halftime lead.

They seemed to maintain momentum when Bryce Anderson intercepted a Milroe pass to thwart Alabama's first drive of the second half.

But two plays later, Max Johnson, under pressure, threw an interception. Immediately afterward, Milroe, whose passing is often maligned, suddenly looked like a Heisman contender.

Receiver Jermaine Burton began working over A&M's secondary. He and Milroe combined for a 15-yard touchdown and a 19-yard touchdown.

The Aggies entered the fourth quarter hoping to rally from a 24-17 deficit. They just couldn’t make the key plays that championship-caliber teams make.

Technically, the Aggies remain in the championship picture. They’re in second place in the SEC West Division race with half the season remaining.

But now winning the West would likely require the Aggies to win their remaining five SEC games. They’d also need Alabama to lose twice.

That’s like hoping to draw to an inside straight.

The Aggies are in that predicament because they royally flushed away so many chances.