Alabama Pulls Away from Texas A&M in the Fourth Quarter, 31-20
The scoreboard moved first on a pick-six. Dijon Lee Jr. returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown with 11:24 left in the first quarter, and Alabama went on to a 31-20 win over Texas A&M.
It was a back-and-forth game for three quarters: four lead changes, two ties, and a field goal for Texas A&M late in the third that made it 20-17. Alabama's biggest deficit was four points. Then Keelon Russell threw a 5-yard touchdown to Marshall Pritchett at 14:55 of the fourth and an 8-yarder to Kaleb Edwards at 10:01, and Texas A&M had nothing back. That was 14 unanswered points to close it.
The turnovers were lopsided. Texas A&M threw two interceptions (Marcel Reed, both) and lost a fumble, three giveaways to Alabama's one interception. Alabama only ran 26 times for 71 yards, but threw for 311, which was enough because Texas A&M had 279 total yards and never found a fourth-quarter answer.
The Crimson Tide's run game barely mattered. Alabama had 26 carries for 71 yards and still scored 31, because the quarterback threw for 311 and the defense had the three takeaways it needed from Texas A&M's two interceptions and a fumble. Mario Craver caught six passes for 45 yards and a touchdown for Texas A&M, and Daniel Hill, Marshall Pritchett and Kaleb Edwards each scored for Alabama on short passes. A team that wants to win games like this one should be happy with a plus-two turnover margin and a quarterback who finishes.
Alabama is 6-2 and Texas A&M is 4-4. Russell finished with three touchdown passes (to Daniel Hill, Pritchett and Edwards) and 32.4 points, and Rico Scott added 156 receiving yards.