Alabama Crimson Tide vs Texas A&M Aggies Match Player Stats On Sep 14, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 14, 2013

No. 1 Alabama 49, No. 6 Texas A&M 42: A.J. McCarron passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns and T.J. Yeldon rushed for 149 yards and a score as the visiting Crimson Tide avenged last season's loss to the Aggies.

Alabama (2-0) overcame an ugly start thanks to a pair of key interceptions and a balanced offensive performance, rolling up 568 total yards. McCarron was 20-for-29 and threw touchdown passes to four different receivers.

Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel got off a red-hot start and nearly sparked a fantastic finish - passing for 464 yards and five scores and rushing for 98 yards on 14 carries - but his two interceptions in between were the difference. Manziel and Mike Evans hooked up seven times for 279 yards - an Aggies record - including a 95-yard catch and run that pulled Texas A&M (2-1) within 42-35 with 8:04 left.

Manziel marched the Aggies down the field on their first two possessions, tossing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Clear and setting up Ben Malena's 1-yard scoring run with a 34-yard pass to Evans, but the Crimson Tide answered with four straight scoring drives for a 28-14 halftime advantage. Alabama thwarted one drive when Manziel overthrew a fade pass in the end zone into the waiting arms of Cyrus Jones, and Vinnie Sunseri's 73-yard interception return - weaving through traffic and juking Manziel along the way - made it 35-14 early in the third.

The teams traded touchdowns throughout the second half and the Crimson Tide appeared poised to put it away before the Aggies recovered Yeldon's fumble on their own 5, setting up Manziel's 95-yard touchdown pass to Evans. Alabama finally sealed it when McCarron capped a nine-play, 65-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jalston Fowler with 2:28 left and Texas A&M's final comeback bid ended with Amani Cooper recovering an onside kick.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Texas A&M's 95-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter was the second-longest in school history. ... Alabama improved to 42-0 since the start of the 2008 season when it has fewer turnovers than its opponent and 52-0 when rushing for at least 140 yards. ... Evans has at least four catches in all 16 games at Texas A&M, the second-longest active streak in the nation behind East Carolina's Justin Hardy (18).