TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama had waited all year for Saturday night, a chance to exact revenge over a rare loss and exert superiority over the rare opposing coach who would dare challenge theirs. Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher had not only beaten the Crimson Tide last season. He had not only stolen Alabama’s spot atop recruiting rankings. He had called Nick Saban a narcissist in front of God and everybody, even the statue of Bear Bryant.
Alabama escapes Texas A&M on a glorious night of drama and disgust
Sticking it to Fisher turned out to be far more harrowing than anybody with houndstooth in their closet could have dreamed. Five months after their verbal spat, 59 minutes and 57 seconds after the opening kick, the showdown between Fisher and Saban came down to one play from the Alabama 2-yard line.
Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold lined up across from Evan Stewart, the Aggies’ best wide receiver, his heels on his own goal line, Bryant-Denny Stadium erupting. “I’m thinking, ‘This is why you come to ‘Bama,’ ” Arnold said. “If they throw my way, I don’t want to be the most hated man in Alabama.”
Don’t worry, Terrion — the title still belongs to Fisher. Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King’s final pass whizzed out of bounds. Backup freshman quarterback Jalen Milroe, pressed into playing because of Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young’s shoulder injury, smiled and thanked God. Saban marched across the field, all the way to the SEC logo near A&M’s sideline, so he could shake Fisher’s hand.
The Crimson Tide escaped, 24-20, after their offense committed four turnovers — three from Milroe — and missed two field goals. All night, frothing with the kind of spite that makes college football so wonderful, Bryant-Denny Stadium waited to explode. Anticipation turned to dread and then to outright relief.
The game provided a reminder that no matter how much college football changes, some things will always stay the same. A game with a point spread of 24 between programs that had played one another 14 times in their ancient histories still inspired the exalted form of irrational hatred that makes college football the glorious institution America, in one of our rare flights of collective wisdom, loves so very much.
Alabama and Texas A&M illustrated one of the byproducts that burbled up out of college football’s ever-shifting ecosystem. Tradition and proximity lasted more than a century as the primary origins of malice. In an era of conference-hopping schools, transfer-happy players and uncontrollable coaching salaries, ego and money have quickly become acceptable substitutes.
It may be a microwave rivalry, but Alabama-Texas A&M is a rivalry all the same. They are separated by a few states and have only shared a conference for a decade. Alabama contends for a national championship every year, and Texas A&M resides perpetually on the cusp of the national conversation. What’s important, though, is that the two schools coached by West Virginians who used to work together can find a way to loathe one another.
Alabama cares about A&M because the Aggies have collected ballyhooed recruiting classes and landed players who otherwise might have chosen the Crimson Tide. A&M cares about Alabama because it has spent an obscene amount out of their aspiration to be like the Tide. A&M’s 41-38 victory last year in College Station ratcheted those resentments. The mudslinging in May launched them into the stratosphere.
While grumbling about name, image and likeness rule at a speaking function, Saban said Texas A&M had “bought every player” in its top-ranked recruiting class, regarded by many experts as one of the most impressive in memory.
Fisher called a news conference the next morning and described Saban’s comments as “despicable,” called Saban a narcissist and said, in reference to Saban, “some people think they’re God.” He also raised eyebrows by imploring reporters to “go dig into his past.” Fisher declared Saban had called him, but that he had refused the call because, “we’re done.”
Texas A&M’s first five weeks took some of the luster off the matchup. Ranked No. 6 in preseason, the Aggies suffered a home upset against Appalachian State — which has since fallen to James Madison and Texas State — in their second game. They lost, 42-24, to Mississippi State last week to tumble out of the rankings.
Alabama delighted in the demise of its burgeoning nemesis. At one tailgate on campus, amid the camp chairs, barbecue smoke and hard seltzer, Tide fans posted a banner that read: “Jimbo’s $95M Buyout — Donate Here!” Next to that one, another sign hung of a cartoon character named Jimbo Shrimp Fisher saying in a speech bubble, “Saban is my daddy!”
But Alabama entered with concerns of its own. Young had suffered a shoulder joint injury in Alabama’s victory over Arkansas last week. He was announced as Alabama’s starting quarterback and stood at midfield for the coin toss in his role as a captain, but when the Tide lined up for their first play, he stayed on the sideline.
The start went to Milroe, a startlingly muscled redshirt freshman from Katy, Tex. He vacillated between capable and uneven. He flashed powerful, fast running and threw three touchdown passes. He also lost two fumbles, threw an interception and took a 15-yard sack on third down that stretched an easy field goal that would have put the Tide up 10 in the fourth quarter into a 47-yarder, which Will Reichard missed.
“We did a lot of things that were not winning football,” Saban said.
In his absence, Young revealed something about this Alabama team. All week, Young boosted Milroe’s confidence and explained certain situations. After big plays, Young rushed on to the field to celebrate with Milroe. At the final whistle, Young and Milroe embraced.
“That’s my brother,” Milroe said. “Forget about football or anything. That’s my brother.”
“Bryce did a really good job of keeping Jalen cool,” star pass rusher Will Anderson said. “If Jalen made a mistake, Bryce was right there every time to say, ‘Calm down, you’re good, we got your back.’ ”
Young was not only supporting Milroe on the sideline — Saban revealed afterward that the Heisman Trophy winner was agitating to enter the game in the fourth quarter, as Alabama attempted to seal the game. The job fell to Milroe, though, and Texas A&M refused to fade.
The Aggies drove inside the Alabama 20 with less than five minutes left after converting on fourth and 3. They lined up for another fourth down before two false start penalties — surely influenced by the otherworldly speed of Anderson, who terrorized King all night — forced them into a 45-yard field goal, which Randy Bond nailed to make it 24-20.
It could have been A&M’s final snap of the night. They had only one timeout left, so an Alabama first down would effectively end the game. But A&M’s defensive line stoned Jase McClellan on third and short, forcing a punt that gave A&M another chance: 1:50 on the clock and 71 yards to go.
On the next drive, King rolled right and heaved a wobbly prayer down the sideline to Stewart, bracketed by two Alabama defensive backs. In front of him, Arnold leaped, a game-ending interception on his fingertips. He had mistimed his jump, though, and the ball fluttered over his fingers. Stewart snared it for a massive gain, and the drive continued.
With 11 seconds left, King rifled a pass into the end zone that safety Jordan Battle snared to end the game. But officials called pass interference, giving Texas A&M the ball at the 2 with three seconds left.
Texas A&M broke its huddle with four wide receivers, and after seeing the formation, Saban called timeout. He thought back to an earlier touchdown the Aggies had scored on a pick play, taking advantage of how Alabama had aligned its defensive backs. He switched the coverage to avoid the same fate. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding told Alabama’s defensive backs they would be playing man to man.
Arnold lined up opposite Stewart. Stewart bolted toward the corner of the end zone, and Arnold stayed with him, closing on King’s pass as it sailed out of bounds.
“Perfect position,” Arnold said. “I was able to make a play.”
The victory came with a cherry on top for Alabama fans: On Twitter, A&M legend Johnny Manziel deemed Fisher’s play “one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen in my life.”
The result kept alive Alabama’s perfect season, which will be tested again next week. With Young’s status still uncertain, the Crimson Tide will travel to No. 8 Tennessee, which remained unbeaten itself by crushing LSU in Tiger Stadium. “Certainly, we have to play a lot better to have chance of being successful,” Saban said. The Tide had not played its best. But it had made a rival miserable, and isn’t that what college football is all about?
Source: WP
