Texas A&M heads into Tuscaloosa with the kind of injury uncertainty that can swing a road game fast.
The Aggies were able to sit a long list of players last week against The Citadel and still roll to a 41-0 win, their fourth victory of the season. That approach made sense against an FCS opponent.
It’s a different story now with No. 13 Alabama waiting on the other side of the trip.
The problem for A&M is that the latest SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report does not point toward an easy roster rebound. Both the Wednesday and Thursday updates suggested the Aggies may still be missing several key pieces, and that’s a bad place to be when the margin for error gets thin in a game like this.
Terry Bussey and Blake Ivy are already out for the season, and Kelshaun Johnson also appears to be unavailable. The bigger question is the group in the questionable category, where Texas A&M has several players it would love to have back in uniform.
That list includes WR Mario Craver, DT DJ Hicks, DE Anto Saka, LB Daymion Sanford and OL Trovon Baugh. All five have started for the Aggies this season, which means this isn’t just depth at issue. That’s a chunk of the starting lineup, on both sides of the ball, and it becomes even more significant when Bussey and Ivy are included.
Craver is the one Texas A&M may need most. He needed the rest week against The Citadel, and he was not at his best against Missouri, where his absence from top form hurt the Aggies. The issue appears to be the same one he seemed to pick up against Kentucky and then aggravate against LSU, and if he can’t play, that’s a major blow.
The defensive questions matter just as much. Hicks, Saka and Sanford are central to the front seven, and A&M will need that group ready if it wants to disrupt Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell.
The Tide have given up plenty of sacks this year, so the Aggies have a clear path: get pressure and make Alabama work for its big plays. That’s easier said than done, even with the noise around Ryan Grubb in Tuscaloosa.
Up front, Baugh also looms large. He’s had an uneven season, and Sam Roseborough held up well in his place against The Citadel.
Still, Tuscaloosa is a different kind of test, and Baugh’s SEC starting experience matters here. He has started for South Carolina against Alabama in T-Town before, and Texas A&M needs all the depth it can get on the offensive line.
There is at least some movement in the other direction for the Aggies. Alabama will be without Ryan Coleman-Williams, one of its most explosive receivers, while Zabien Brown, who may be the Tide’s best corner, is questionable. That could give A&M a small opening if the injury report breaks its way.
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Mario Craver and Daymion Sanford are among the players listed as questionable because of injuries, which adds another layer of uncertainty to a week already shaped by a tough opponent. If those absences linger, Texas A&M will need more from younger options like freshman Aaron Gregory and sophomore TK Norman as it adjusts its offensive approach and searches for answers against one of the SECs most demanding tests. [Read more 🡒]