Keelon Russell kept Alabama upright when the Crimson Tide needed it most.
Russell threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns, with two of those scoring strikes coming in the fourth quarter as No. 13 Alabama finished off a 31-20 win over Texas A&M on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. The victory snapped a two-game skid for the Tide, who had come in off losses to Georgia and Tennessee.
Alabama (6-2, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) was staring at a second-half deficit before flipping the game with a timely fourth-down stop and a pair of touchdown drives. Russell went 19 of 30 and also threw an interception, but he kept finding answers when the pressure rose. His scoring throws went to Daniel Hill, Marshall Pritchett and Kalen Edwards.
Rico Scott was the biggest piece of the passing game all afternoon. With Ryan Coleman-Williams out for a second straight game because of a knee injury, Scott stepped into the No. 1 role and delivered six catches for 156 yards.
“Rico came up in a big way,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “He's developed those expectations for himself above and beyond. Keelon has a lot of confidence in him.”
The defense helped set the tone early and then held firm when Texas A&M started to make noise. The biggest swing came on Dijon Lee Jr.'s 39-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter. Chuck McDonald III added his first career interception, and Alabama limited the Aggies to 278 total yards.
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed had a rough opening stretch that included two interceptions and a fumble, but he settled in enough to give the Aggies a shot. Reed finished with 163 passing yards and a touchdown through the air, plus a rushing score.
Mike Elko said after the game that a quarterback change was on the table, but Reed’s response changed the feel of the night.
“Yeah, absolutely. It was for sure a thought,” Elko said.
“Obviously, it couldn’t continue to go that way. So we were ready to do that.
And then Marcel obviously went back out and played probably his best football for the rest of the first half.”
Reed helped Texas A&M recover from the early damage with a touchdown pass to Mario Craver and a scoring run that pushed the Aggies ahead 14-10. They carried a 20-17 lead into the fourth quarter before Alabama seized control.
The decisive stretch started when Reed lost the ball on a fourth-and-1 sneak at midfield. Alabama took over there and needed only three plays before Russell hit Scott for 38 yards to reach the Texas A&M 5. Russell then found Marshall Pritchett for the go-ahead score, and when the Aggies tried to respond, Fatutoa Henry delivered Alabama’s first sack of the day to shut down the threat.
“I’m really proud of (Henry). He had just an injury earlier in the week that, you know, I wasn’t even sure what his production would be for us come Saturday,” DeBoer said. “I couldn’t be more proud of guys like him, and specifically him, on the way that they just continue to push forward, and he did that exactly, that exact thing all week, getting himself ready.”
Russell added another cushion with a touchdown pass to Kaleb Edwards, and that was enough to put the finish out of reach.
Alabama’s secondary had already been stretched thin before kickoff. Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. was suspended for violating team rules, and the Tide confirmed the move just before the game.
It was Kirkpatrick’s second suspension at Alabama; he also missed the final seven games of the 2025 season after an on-campus arrest. Red Morgan was later ejected for targeting midway through the second quarter, and he threw his gloves before being consoled on the bench by Coleman-Williams.
Alabama was also without top cornerback Zabien Brown because of a leg injury.
Texas A&M, meanwhile, dropped to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in SEC play after making the College Football Playoff last season and bringing back Reed and Craver.
Alabama avoided its first three-game losing streak since 2007, Nick Saban’s first season as coach. The Crimson Tide have a week off before playing at No.
18 LSU on Nov. 7.
Texas A&M also has an open date before traveling to South Carolina on Nov. 7.
In Other News...
Alabama Faces A Brutal Late Twist Before Texas A&M Showdown
Alabamas injury report for the Texas A&M game delivered a rougher-than-expected update late in the week, with three key players in Racin Delgatty, Zabien Brown and EJ Crowell all downgraded to doubtful. The Tide are already preparing to be without star wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams and defensive lineman Terrance Green, a combination that tightens the margin for error as they get ready for a matchup that has taken on added weight.
Texas A&M, meanwhile, got a more encouraging read on its own availability list, with Mario Craver and DJ Hicks both upgraded to probable. For Alabama, the timing makes the depth chart even more important and leaves the final call on several contributors hanging over what was already shaping up as a demanding road test. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Saban Just Shared A Side Of Himself Alabama Fans Know Well
Nick Saban spent part of ESPNs College GameDay in Salt Lake City leaning into a sport Alabama fans know he has come to enjoy more and more, offering a reminder that his competitive curiosity has never been limited to football. The former Crimson Tide coach, who is also a minority owner of the NHLs Nashville Predators, talked about his growing appreciation for hockey and connected it to the same kinds of principles he used while building elite teams in Tuscaloosa.
The setting made the conversation even more fitting, with Salt Lake City set to host the 2034 Winter Olympics and hockey very much part of the local sports conversation. Sabans comments underscored how naturally he sees the overlap between the two sports, from assembling talent to creating a team that can sustain success, even if the details of how deep that interest now runs were left hanging. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Faces A Costly Availability Problem Before Texas A&M
Alabamas availability report ahead of Texas A&M brought an unwelcome update for a team trying to keep its footing in a key SEC stretch. Zabien Brown, Racin Delgatty and EJ Crowell were all downgraded to doubtful, a rough sign for a roster already dealing with injury concerns after the physical win over Tennessee.
Delgatty is expected to miss a second straight game, while Brown and Crowell were hurt in that Tennessee matchup and now face a questionable path to Saturday. On the other sideline, Texas A&M got a bit of a boost with two players upgraded to probable, adding another layer to a game where availability could matter as much as form. [Read more 🡒]