Life in the new SEC is proving to show its teeth as Alabama finds itself in a must-win scenario after two straight defeats, needing a victory against Texas A&M to avoid falling out of the College Football Playoff picture before Halloween. After back-to-back losses to Georgia and Tennessee, Alabama is looking to avoid a three-game losing streak for the first time since 2007 (Nick Saban's first year as head coach), and Kalen DeBoer is hoping to avoid the first three-game losing streak of his entire head coaching career. The good news is that Alabama is welcoming an unranked Texas A&M team, and the Crimson Tide are carrying an 89-game winning streak against unranked teams.
For Texas A&M, the path to falling from top-10 in the preseason to unranked highlights what has become one of the most disappointing seasons of the Aggies' SEC era. Ever since standing at 11-0 heading into the rivalry week in 2025, Texas A&M has lost each of its next four games against ranked opponents. The Aggies got to score some touchdowns and sing the fight song after blanking The Citadel 41-0, but when it comes to national attention, the failures in these spotlight opportunities have greatly changed the public's view of this team.
The desperation for both these teams to avoid making their recent skids worse should spark some urgency, which always adds intensity to Saturdays in the SEC. Alabama is dealing with multiple key injuries on offense: The Crimson Tide need that off week in the worst way, and at the beginning of the week multiple offensive starters are questionable for Saturday's game against Texas A&M after missing action in the loss at Tennessee. The most notable might be star wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, who was injured in the loss to Georgia and is officially dealing with head and leg injuries.
Coleman-Williams is the team leader in touchdown catches (4) and prior to his injury had more catches or yards than anyone else on the team, so maybe it's not a surprise that his absence against the Vols coincided with Keelon Russell's least-productive passing game of the season (147 yards). However, the issues could be starting up front, as Alabama was also struggling to deal with the loss of starting center Racin Delgatty, who was also injured in the Georgia loss. Delgatty's replacement against Tennessee was freshman Mal Waldrep, and facing the Vols' vicious defensive front in a raucous rivalry road atmosphere went about as well as you might predict for a freshman in his first career start.
Marcel Reed looking to recapture his best form after struggles in 2026: According to CBS Sports Research, Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed has the fewest passing yards per game (175.3) in FBS this season among quarterbacks with at least 200 pass attempts. That follows a 2025 season in which Reed won 11 games as the team's starter, averaging 243.8 passing yards per game and finishing with 31 total touchdowns. When former offensive coordinator Collin Klein left to take the head coaching position at his alma mater, Kansas State, the decision to promote from within aligned with the idea of leaning on continuity for a talented quarterback coming off a breakthrough season.
Instead, what has followed is nine total touchdowns to six interceptions through seven games, a 55.7% completion percentage (last in the SEC), and the aforementioned lack of production that ranks among the worst in FBS. Trends point to a turnaround for Alabama in Tuscaloosa: While it has been a while since we have seen the Crimson Tide stack up defeats like they have this month, the overall trends show this matchup and this setting as favorable for Alabama. Kalen DeBoer is 16-2 as Alabama's coach in home games and just 9-8 away from Bryant-Denny Stadium, and Alabama is 13-3 against Texas A&M all-time and has only lost to the Aggies once in Tuscaloosa (Johnny Manziel's 29-24 upset in 2012).
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