The Texas A&M Aggies last visit to Tuscaloosa to face the Crimson Tide of Alabama was the coming-out party for Johnny Manziel. He already impressed the college football world before that game, but his performance in the 29-24 win at Bryant-Denny Stadium launched his Heisman campaign that year.
Two years later from that day, Kenny Hill is now the quarterback for Texas A&M and they are currently reeling from back-to-back losses to Mississippi State and Ole Miss. In both games, they were completely outplayed by the two teams from the state of Mississippi who are currently both in the top 3 in the polls. With the Aggies now sitting at 2-2 in the SEC, any hope of staying alive in the race to win the brutal SEC West is dependent on the Aggies winning out from here. That starts with a road game against Alabama this Saturday.
After being utterly convincing at South Carolina, Texas A&M cruised through an easy three-game schedule outside of the SEC. The Aggies then showed character to comeback late and defeat Arkansas at AT&T stadium. But unfortunately since then, they have been outclassed and the scores don’t really reflect just how well the Aggies have been beaten.
The defense has performed better than expected this year, even through the two games they lost. It has made teams work to find the holes, especially up front, as the rush defense is vastly improved. They also are creating more of a pass rush but have been leaky in coverage, which has been their undoing. The difference for the defense is that the offense isn’t helping them out like they did through the first four games.
Kenny Hill has looked completely befuddled against two of the best defenses in the country, throwing five picks in those games while the offense has also lost three fumbles. Committing eight turnovers in two games is not going to win you games in the toughest division in the country. The wide receivers quickly went from being the deepest and talented group in the country to looking below average, as they have been plagued by drops without Malcome Kennedy, who was injured.
The key for the Aggies in their visit to Alabama is to limit the turnovers against a Crimson Tide secondary that has struggled this season. If Hill can keep his poise in the pocket, he should be able to pick apart the secondary with the sort of options he has. On the defense, it’s going to be about trying to make Alabama one-dimensional by stopping the running game and forcing them to pass with Blake Sims, similar to what Arkansas did last week. That is easier said than done.
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