No. 13 Alabama heads into Week 8 with urgency baked into the matchup, and the Crimson Tide will try to stop the slide when Texas A&M comes to town for a major SEC showdown.
Alabama opened the season 5-0, but back-to-back losses to Georgia and Tennessee knocked the Crimson Tide out of the top 10 and put more pressure on the rest of the schedule. With only one more ranked opponent left beyond this weekend, Alabama needs to keep winning if it wants a real shot at the College Football Playoff.
Texas A&M arrives with its own problems. The Aggies, who earned a playoff berth in 2025, are 4-3 overall and 1-3 in SEC play.
They did bounce back with a lopsided win over The Citadel, but that doesn’t erase what’s happened against quality opponents. Texas A&M has faced three ranked teams - Missouri, Kentucky and LSU - and lost each one by double digits.
In two of those games, the Aggies scored just six points.
That leaves Alabama in a strong spot at home, at least on paper. Oddsmakers have the Crimson Tide favored by more than two touchdowns.
The biggest question for Alabama is whether sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell can rediscover the rhythm that made him a Heisman candidate earlier in the season. His production has cooled sharply over the last two weeks.
Russell has been held under 200 passing yards in consecutive games, including a 147-yard performance in the loss to Tennessee. He threw two interceptions in that game and added a rushing touchdown.
Even with the recent dip, Russell’s season numbers still stand out. He has completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 1,746 yards and 12 touchdowns with four interceptions. He’s also been a factor as a runner, carrying the ball 57 times for 231 yards and five touchdowns.
Alabama’s offense has been explosive at times under Kalen DeBoer, and the Crimson Tide have scored at least 45 points in each of their five wins. But that unit has gone cold lately, failing to reach 20 points in each of the last two weeks. Now it draws a Texas A&M defense that has quietly been the strength of the team.
The Aggies rank 17th in adjusted EPA/Play, 20th in success rate and inside the top 30 in EPA/Pass and EPA/Rush. They’re also 12th nationally in third/fourth down success rate.
Alabama’s defense has been just as impressive. The Crimson Tide sit 10th in the country in adjusted EPA/Play and 11th in success rate, and they’ve been especially strong against the run, ranking fourth in rush success rate. That could create a tough day for Marcel Reed and a Texas A&M passing game that ranks 127th in the country in EPA/Pass.
The scoring history against ranked SEC opponents doesn’t offer much comfort for the Aggies either. Texas A&M has put up 21 points against one ranked league foe, then six and six in the other two.
With Alabama’s offense cooling off and Texas A&M’s attack struggling to produce against top competition, the total is drawing attention. The spread is wide enough to make the cover less appealing, but the better look here is the under, especially if the number stays in the 50s.
I’d understand picking the Crimson Tide to cover here, but I don’t love that the spread is now outside two touchdowns. Instead, I’m going to bet on both of these defenses and take the UNDER.
As long as this total remains in the 50s, the UNDER is worth a look on Saturday.
In Other News...
Mike Elko Got A Reset But Texas A&M Still Has Everything To Prove
The win over The Citadel at least gave Texas A&M a clean break from the kind of performance that had hung over the program after the Missouri game, when the Aggies failed to score a touchdown and looked nowhere near the standard they need to reach. For a team trying to steady itself under Mike Elko, even a lopsided result can matter because it offers a chance to regroup, refocus and stop the spiral from looking permanent.
Still, one reset does not change the larger question facing this season. The Aggies have to show they can carry that momentum into games that actually define an SEC year, and that means proving the offense and overall consistency travel against better competition. Until they do, the Missouri loss will feel less like a bad day and more like the clearest warning sign of what this team still has to overcome. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Heads To Texas A&M With Two Key Availability Questions
Alabamas trip to College Station comes with a little more uncertainty than a typical October road game, thanks to a pair of lower-leg injuries that bear watching all week. Head coach Kalen DeBoer said EJ Crowell and Zabien Brown are both being evaluated as the Crimson Tide prepare for their Week 8 matchup with Texas A&M, leaving two of their more impactful defenders and contributors in a day-to-day holding pattern.
Crowell has been one of Alabamas most efficient runners by yards per carry, while Brown has been a steady presence in the secondary and leads the team in passes defended. For Texas A&M, the situation adds another layer to a game that already carries real SEC weight, because Alabamas available personnel in the backfield and on the perimeter could shape how aggressive the Tide can be from the opening series on. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Faces A Bigger Question Than Its Alabama Trip
Texas A&M heads into the Alabama trip with the kind of underdog label that tends to sharpen every conversation around the program, but the bigger intrigue may be happening off the field. Betting lines have reflected the Aggies recent play, yet the more forward-looking chatter around the program has centered on how the roster could be shaped for next season and what kind of quarterback help might be available in the transfer portal.
One name already floating into that discussion is Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele from Cal, a signal that Texas A&Ms attention extends well beyond Saturdays matchup. For a team trying to stabilize its trajectory, the Alabama game is only part of the picture, and the rest of it involves how aggressively the Aggies choose to pursue help at the games most important position. [Read more 🡒]