OT: Alabama will beat Texas A&M by two touchdowns or more. Anyone disagree?
Despite playing at home I really can't see A&M winning this game. I think Johnny snuck up on Bama last year, and in fact he did most of his damage in the 1st quarter, with Bama giving up very few opportunities the second half. Additionaly, A&M lost Luke Joeckel at LT. I, like most human beings, am not a Nick Saban fan, but he is a damn good defensive coach, and if there is one person that can gameplan and defeat Manziel with scheme (plus Bama's talent) it is him. I see that Vegas has Alabama as 8 pt favorites on the road, and I think that's conservative. 31-14 Alabama.
September 14th, 2013 at 9:26 AM ^
He was great, no question about it. However, the first quarter of last year's game was completely different than the last three. Manziel had three TDs in the first quarter and only 9 points the rest of the way. Saban and his staff had clearly figured out Johnny Football, but their offense couldn't dig the rest of the 'Bama squad out of the hole.
Last year's 'Bama-A&M game really reminds me of Denard's first season as a starter when we played ND. The Irish didn't know what had hit them and couldn't make enough adjustments fast enough.
Expect Manziel to be sewn into the pocket and dared to pass. He's a better passer this year than last, however. It will either work in A&M's favor, or Johnny Football is a has-been.
September 14th, 2013 at 9:18 AM ^
Here's what I want. The trio of LSU-BAMA-A&M to each beat one another so that they each have one loss. So if BAMA wins, I root for LSU over BAMA and A&M over LSU, etc.
In this particular game I am going for BAMA. Only because I have several Aggie relatives and they remind me of Sparty fans.
September 14th, 2013 at 9:34 AM ^
Johnny Football, but they forget that he has NFL OL in front of him. He has Jake Matthews, who is probably a better prospect than Luke Joeckel, lining up at LT. He also has Ogbuehi at RT who is considered to be a 2nd round pick for '14 draft. The OL all can pass protect like nobody's business.
If you watched last year, Bama tried their hardest to get to Johnny Football but Joeckel and Matthews kept him clean so they gave up and just stopped pass rushing.
A&M offense is the kind of offense that Nick Saban hates to defend especially when they go no huddle.
September 14th, 2013 at 10:02 AM ^
September 14th, 2013 at 10:32 AM ^