2016 MMR Week 7: Texas A&M at Alabama

I guess the capital city of Texas is rubbing off on me, because I have this ongoing image of Matthew McConaughey rubbing his hands and muttering “alright, alright, alright.”

it's the time of year again, the Dennis Franchione classic is here again. Yeah this is a tough game, we’re playing the #1 team in the country on the road. But wait, we like playing SEC games on the road. In fact, we do pretty darn well. So chalk that up for the Aggies. BUT…this is going to be a game we win with our strategy as much our play, and we like to get into Saban’s little head. So here is the plan to beat Alabama.

CONTROL THE CLOCK

Saban knows that Coach Sumlin prefers to go fast when possible. This is something Saban may expect, but as the game plays on, we need to control as much of the clock as possible. Alabama likes to take turnovers and score on the opposition. So then it’s simple, throw less and run more. Now I’m not saying don’t throw at all, but play a very conservative passing game that is made up of short routes, screen plays, and passes that only A&M receivers can catch. The longer we have the ball (and Alabama doesn’t), the better of a chance we have to win.

DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE

This is actually not anything different that what we did last year. We lost last year because we gave up three touchdowns on turnovers. Our defense has to play as good as last year to keep us close.

The biggest concern with the Alabama offense is the mobility of their quarterback, Jalen Hurts. Add to his talent that every game he plays he becomes more acquainted with the playbook and you can see why he’s so dangerous. Put a wall in front of him that can block and you see why no one has beaten Alabama this year. But Alabama has not played anyone with the defensive line talent that we bring to the game. You can’t double team Hall or Garrett because the other is freed up to blitz. If you stay with a man-to-man scheme, either one can overpower their opposing lineman. Then you throw in our suicide squad cornerbacks who love to hit and tackles, and this has the making of a classic showdown

If the Aggies don’t do stupid stuff, then this is a very close game. Alabama has seen every situation this year and still won…they came from behind, they have won big on the road. They just win…but not this weekend!

Texas A&M 28

Alabama 24