Texas A&M wide receiver Malcome Kennedy (84) catches the game winning touchdown as Alabama defensive back Dee Milliner (28) defends during the second half of an NCAA college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012.TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Johnny Football took down Alabama football, and the Southeastern Conference’s streak of national championships could be over.
Texas A&M redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel earned the biggest victory of an already brilliant career Saturday by guiding the No. 15 Aggies to a shocking 29-24 defeat of No. 1 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Manziel repeatedly befuddled the nation’s top scoring defense, throwing for 253 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 92 yards and 5.1 yards a carry.
“That was him doing what he does,” Crimson Tide linebacker C.J. Moseley said. “That’s why he’s got the Johnny Football name. He made the plays when he had to.”
A former three-star recruit, Manziel staked Texas A&M to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter and finished 24-of-31 passing. With the Aggies nursing a 23-17 lead with 9:10 remaining, Manziel delivered a two-play drive that consisted of a 42-yard pass to Ryan Swope down the right sideline and a 24-yard touchdown throw to Malcome Kennedy.
Alabama, which rallied for a 21-17 win at LSU last week, started another comeback with a 54-yard touchdown pass from AJ McCarron to Amari Cooper with 6:09 to play. McCarron had another 54-yarder, this time to Kenny Bell, to set up a first-and-goal at Texas A&M’s 6-yard line, but the Aggies stiffened.