Alabama was a 26-point favorite over Texas A&M, so I liveblogged this until it became extremely apparent Alabama was gonna win. I went deep into the third quarter this week, but no further.

Final

Alabama 45, Texas A&M 23:

Congrats Aggies, you won the fourth quarter.

Third quarter

Alabama 45, Texas A&M 16:

Bye.

I’ll be back if A&M gets within 14 points (lol).

Alabama 38, Texas A&M 16:

Fine, I’ll keep updating for the moment.

Alabama 38, Texas A&M 13:

I said I might be updating this into the third quarter. 80 yards and seven plays for a score is really good.

With 10:03 left in the third I am very close to shutting this one down. I’ll see what A&M does here on the subsequent drive.

Halftime:

Alabama 31, Texas A&M 13:

Second quarter

Alabama 31, Texas A&M 13:

A back-breaking pick for A&M leads to a Bama field goal to end the half.

Bama steals three points heading into the break, and will get the ball back to start the third quarter. There’s a chance the Tide can go on a 17-point run if they can score a touchdown to open the second half.

Alabama 28, Texas A&M 13:

And now we’ve reached the portion of the program where the Tide’s opponent gets caught bringing threes to a seven fight. Alabama gets in the red zone and scores touchdowns.

The last four drives of the game have gone like this:

A&M: Field goal

Bama: Touchdown (in the red zone)

A&M: Field goal (in the red zone)

Bama: Touchdown (in the red zone)

Alabama 21, Texas A&M 13:

Bama has a nice stop in the red zone, and forces another A&M field goal.

Alabama 21, Texas A&M 10:

Bama scored on a nice TD pass from Tua, but the most important play of the drive came here, when he avoided a field goal try with this first down. But it was certainly close.

Alabama 14, Texas A&M 10:

The Aggie kicking situation, on the other hand, is pretty good. Big 52-yard field goal closes the gap.

Alabama 14, Texas A&M 7:

Knew the kicking situation was bad in Tuscaloosa, but YIKES.

First quarter

Alabama 14, Texas A&M 7:

Beautiful Tua bootleg. He walks in untouched for the score.

Alabama 7, Texas A&M 7:

The Texas Agricultural and Medical University football just messed around and drove the ball 99 yards to score.

This Kellen Mond run to get them in business definitely didn’t hurt.

Alabama 7, Texas A&M 0:

With 9:17 left A&M actually got Bama off the field on third down, and that’s not just me making a joke, it’s very notable. Tua Tagovailoa was 13-13 on third down passing. He’s now 13-14 after an incompletion.

That’s the good news. The bad news: the Tide pinned ‘em on the 1-yard line with the punt.

Alabama 7, Texas A&M 0: Oh.

Bama has now scored on the opening drive in every game this season.

Alabama 0, Texas A&M 0: Third play of the game, Bama pick. That ain’t great ...

Game preview by James Brady

The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide haven’t come close to being tested in any of their first three games, hanging 50-plus points on both Louisville and Arkansas State, and most recently 62 points on Ole Miss. The No. 22 Texas A&M Aggies are the next team on the schedule, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS (live streaming via FuboTV, CBS All-Access).

Texas A&M has also been very good, with big wins in two of their games, and nearly took down No. 2 Clemson in Week 2, but fell short by two points. Few believe the Aggies can beat Alabama, but can they keep it at all close? That’s the big question going into Week 4 of the college football season.

Below is all you need to know to follow the action on Saturday.

Time, TV, and streaming info

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
TV: CBS
Streaming: FuboTV, CBS All-Access
Odds: Alabama opened as 26-point favorites for the matchup.

Texas A&M vs. Alabama news

The folks at Roll Bama Roll took a look at the Aggies’ much-improved defense this season, and the challenges the Alabama offense will face.

Tagovailoa is going to be the key to this match-up, as the Aggies’ myriad coverage looks and blitz angles can be confusing to a weathered veteran, let alone a player with a mere three starts beneath his belt. IF Tua can do his typical Tua routine by reading the defenses, checking down, and delivering beautiful passes in stride, then there won’t be much the Aggies can do to stop the Alabama offense.

Texas A&M has been much more known for its offense in recent years, though. While the defense is improved, the offense is still something to look out for, even for a team like Alabama.
Working for Nick Saban is something a lot of coordinators want, but when they go on to become head coaches, they have a miserable record against Saban’s teams.
And while we’re talking all manner of previews, the folks at Good Bull Hunting have their usual graphical preview of the game, and it’s a good one.

Another close call in the works?

The Crimson Tide are the best team in the nation, and have “struggled” over the years with managing hype and expectations, at least according to Saban. Last year, Alabama were massive favorites coming off big wins going into their game against Texas A&M, but it was incredibly close. They were 5-0 on the season, but when they ran into Texas A&M, after multiple blwoouts, they escaped with just a 27-19 victory.

Texas A&M vs. Alabama prediction

In the latest S&P+ rankings, Alabama leads all teams in the nation with a 35.7 number, while Texas A&M comes in at 21.2, which means a predictive score difference of 14.5 points on a neutral field. Alabama has the game at home. Texas A&M may have the tools to push them further than the other teams they’ve faced, but Alabama is expected to win this one handily.

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Texas A&M becomes the first team to cover vs. Alabama in 2018, at least