Virginia Tech safety Kyshoen Jarrett (34) tackles Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon (4).Then there is the other side of the coin.
While most of the focus concerning Saturday’s Alabama-Texas A&M game is on the Crimson Tide defense trying to contain Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel, the matchup of the Tide offense against A&M’s defense will be equally important to the outcome. The Aggies pitched a shutout for nearly 20 minutes of last season’s 29-24 upset victory in Tuscaloosa, but their defense struggled in this year’s wins over Rice and Sam Houston State.
Alabama has played once this season, and its offense managed just 206 yards in the 35-10 win over Virginia Tech at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic.
“We definitely weren’t clicking by any means, and we have to get better across the board, myself included,” Tide quarterback AJ McCarron said. “We can’t hurt ourselves and have negative plays to start the drive. We have to stay in front of the sticks.”
McCarron had a 38-yard touchdown pass to Christion Jones against the Hokies, while T.J. Yeldon had a 27-yard run and Altee Tenpenny a late 20-yard carry. Take away those three gains, and the Tide had 121 yards on 59 plays against defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s Hokies, or 2.05 yards a play.