Field Level Media
Oct 7, 2023
Jalen Milroe passed for a career-high 321 yards and matched his best with three touchdowns and No. 11 Alabama notched a 26-20 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon in Southeastern Conference play at College Station, Texas.
Jermaine Burton had a career-best nine receptions, matched his career high of 197 yards and caught two touchdown passes as the Crimson Tide (5-1, 3-0 SEC) moved into sole possession of first place in the SEC West.
Isaiah Bond had seven receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown and Caleb Downs had an interception for Alabama. Milroe completed 21 of 33 passes with one interception.
Max Johnson was 14-of-25 passing for 239 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Texas A&M (4-2, 2-1), which had a three-game winning streak snapped. Johnson threw a touchdown pass to younger brother Jake Johnson while Le'Veon Moss rushed for a score.
Bryce Anderson had an interception and fumble recovery while Edgerrin Cooper (three) and Fadil Diggs (two) combined for five of the Aggies' six sacks.
Milroe and Burton teamed up on two third-quarter touchdown passes as Alabama took a 24-17 lead.
First, the Crimson Tide knotted the score on Milroe's 15-yard throw to Burton with 7:29 left. Alabama moved ahead when Milroe tossed a 19-yard scoring pass to Burton with 22 seconds remaining.
In the fourth quarter, the Aggies were backed up by their end zone and Alabama's Justin Eboigbe stormed in and was about to sack Max Johnson in the end zone. Johnson tossed the ball away just before hitting the ground and was flagged for intentional grounding, giving the Crimson Tide a safety to increase their lead to 26-17 with 5:55 left.
Randy Bond kicked a 20-yard field goal with 2:11 left to bring Texas A&M within six, but the Crimson Tide recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
The Aggies struck first on a 22-yard field goal by Bond with 5:34 left in the first quarter.
Just over two minutes later, Alabama's Will Reichard booted a 39-yard field goal to knot the score. It was Reichard's 25th consecutive made field-goal attempt.
The Crimson Tide moved ahead 10-3 on the first play of the second quarter as Isaiah Bond got loose behind the A&M secondary and caught a 52-yard pass from Milroe for the score.
The Aggies evened the tally when the Johnsons teamed up -- Max threw a 22-yard scoring pass to Jake -- with 9:57 left in the first half. The touchdown was set up by Ainias Smith's 46-yard punt return.
Later in the quarter, Moss scored from the 1 to give Texas A&M a 17-10 advantage with 3:23 remaining.
--Field Level Media