A&M gets fresh shot at top team

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M gets a do-over in taking on the nation’s No. 1 team.

The 24th-ranked Aggies (3-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) struck out against then-No. 1 Clemson a month ago and now host top-ranked Alabama (5-0, 2-0) today. So they well understand the challenges presented by that scenario, even if Texas A&M struggled offensively in a 24-10 loss at Clemson on Sept. 7.

“You’ve been in that environment once, now you get to do it at home,” Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher said. “Hopefully you’ll learn from those situations and learn that those No. 1 teams are No. 1 for one reason. They play very well. At the end of the day, they play well, and that’s what you have to do. We have to go and play well. You can’t get caught up in what we’re trying to do and the emotion in the game.”

Both teams are coming off open dates, giving them an extra week to heal up and prepare. Texas A&M is one of five schools to face the No. 1 team twice in a season since the poll began in 1936, having also done it in 1970.

Even as 16 ½-point underdogs, the Aggies are trying to become the first team to challenge the Tide this season. Nobody else has come

closer than 24 points or even slowed down quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the Tide offense.

“All in all, this is a really good team from top to bottom,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said of Texas A&M.

The Aggies’ challenge is to contain an Alabama offense that is averaging 51.8 points per game, or try to keep up with the Tide offensively. In his first true road game of the season, Tagovailoa passed for 444 yards and five touchdowns against South Carolina.

Texas A&M does go against a freshman-laden Tide defense. Quarterback Kellen Mond could find some room to run considering Mississippi freshman quarterback John Rhys Plumlee ran for 109 yards against Alabama two weeks ago.