Takeaways from Alabama Football's Statement Road Win at Texas A&M

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Earlier in the week, the SEC Network's Chris Doering said that Texas A&M was better than Alabama in every aspect — offense, defense and special teams.

He wasn't the only one that thought the Aggies would topple the Crimson Tide for the second time in three years. Alabama was just a one-point favorite at one point.

As it has been all season, the level of doubt surrounding the Crimson Tide was high. How would Jalen Milroe handle another crazy environment? How would Alabama do against Texas A&M's tough defensive front? What happens to the Crimson Tide's cherished dynasty if it falls for the second time in six weeks?

Like it continues to do week in, week out, Alabama answered the bell in a big way — setting itself up in a good position to win the SEC West again in 2023-24.

Here are my biggest takeaways from the Crimson Tide's second-half domination of the Aggies at Kyle Field:

The Defense Continues to Save the Day When Needed

Alabama turned the ball over twice on Saturday. The Crimson Tide allowed six sacks on Jalen Milroe. Alabama had 23 rushing yards. Texas A&M's average starting field position was at its own 37.

None of these things are contributors to winning, and yet it didn't matter in the end. Why? Because Alabama's defense is different this year. No matter the situation, the Crimson Tide seems prepared. Last year, especially on the road, there seemed to be times when Alabama freaked out on defense.

It's a cliche, but this Crimson Tide defense takes everything play by play. Give up 40 yards on a deep pass? They quickly reset and look to make the next play.

When you're playing at the highest level of competition like Alabama is, you have to be that way as a defense. And so far this year, that's the way it's been.

Here's your key stat — in the loss to Texas on Sept. 9, the Crimson Tide gave up 10 points off two turnovers. On Saturday, the Aggies couldn't scrape together a point off Alabama's mistakes.

Winning with the Pass?

So far this year, it's been all about running the ball. Last week, the Crimson Tide ran the ball 43 times compared to just passing the ball 13 times.

But every week brings a new challenge, and this week was no different. Deep down, Alabama probably knew it would struggle to muster much yardage on the ground against what was and still is a stout front for Texas A&M.

And while it certainly tried early on, the Crimson Tide soon found out that it wasn't going to have much success — and that put the ball in the hands of Jalen Milroe.

And he delivered.

In his home state of Texas, Milroe played the best game of his Alabama career, throwing for a career-high 321 yards and three scores. For those of you that enjoy NFL passer rating, Milroe's line came out at a 113.32 out of the perfect 158.3.

Jermaine Burton Giveth and Taketh Away

This really is the story of Jermaine Burton. One step forward, then one step back. I'm being too critical because Burton played the best game of his Crimson Tide career.

Nine catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns. You read that correctly. Alabama has been looking for a No. 1 receiver for two seasons now, and maybe Burton is that guy.

He fumbled once and picked up a personal foul while also dropping a couple balls. But overall, Burton was the star that the Crimson Tide needed out wide on Saturday.

Resiliency on the Road

After Alabama lost its two toughest road games a season ago, it was refreshing for Crimson Tide fans to see their team come out on top in the white uniforms.

It wasn't clean, it wasn't perfect — but what do they say? A win is a win.

Alabama was down 17-10 at halftime. Instead of many other reactions, the Crimson Tide made its adjustments in the locker room and dominated the second half.

Alabama outscored the Aggies 16-3 in the final two quarters, including a 14-0 advantage in the third quarter.

Penalties, Penalties, Penalties

Whew. It's not very often that you can commit 14 penalties and win a football game. The Crimson Tide has had to deal with double-digit flags several times over the last two years, and Nick Saban has to be getting tired of it.

Without all the penalties, who knows what the final score would have been? It got away with it on Saturday, but it won't always be that way — as Alabama learned the hard way a couple times last season.

Ten of the 14 penalties came on offense. The Crimson Tide has struggled on offense at times this year — getting called for 10 penalties doesn't do it any favors.