College Football Old School Game of the Week: Alabama Gets Revenge on A&M & Manziel

 

Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron completed 20 of 29 passes for 334 yards and threw four touchdown passes in Bama's win over Texas A&M.

On November 10, 2012, the Texas A&M Aggies traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to take on the #1 ranked and defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide as the Tide were two-touchdown favorites to defeat the Aggies.

But behind a remarkable performance by redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, who threw for 253 yards and two touchdown passes while running for 92 yards on 18 carries, the Aggies shocked the Tide 29-24 to hand Alabama its first loss in over a year.

The Tide would rebound to run the national championship for the second year in a row while Texas A&M would go on to finish the season with a 11-2 record in their first season in the SEC as Manziel would win the Heisman Trophy after a season in which totaled 5,216 yards of offense(3,706 passing and 1,410 rushing)and 47 touchdowns(26 touchdown passes, 21 touchdown runs).

This set the stage for the anticipated rematch on September 14, 2013 where the #1 ranked Crimson Tide traveled to College Station to take on Manziel and the #6 ranked Aggies.

The Tide were the two-time defending national champions under head coach Nick Saban, who returned Alabama to dominance as the Crimson Tide won at least 10 games in each of the previous five seasons and won three national titles in the last four years.

Seeking a historic three-peat, the Tide featured quarterback A.J. McCarron, who had been the Tide's starting quarterback for the previous two seasons, and a stout defense that gave up an average of only 8.9 points per game in 2011 and 10.9 points per game in 2012.

The most points an Alabama defense had given up over that span were the 29 scored by the Aggies in their 2012 upset over the Tide as the Aggies led by second-year head coach Kevin Sumlin look to build on their 2012 season where A&M finished #5 in both the final AP and coaches polls.

The offseason had been a tumultuous one for the Aggies because of Manziel's off the field behavior which included a few instances of him partying and underage drinking that included him being getting kicked out of a frat party at the University of Texas.

The biggest issue came on August 4 when it was revealed that Manziel was under a NCAA investigation for making money off autographed merchandise.

The NCAA could not determine whether or not Manziel received any payment for the autographs as a deal was made where Manziel would be suspended for the first half of the Aggies' 2013 season opener against the Rice Owls.

Manziel showed no effects of the suspension as he threw for three touchdown passes in the second half of the Aggies' 52-31 against Rice then threw for 426 yards and three touchdowns in a 65-28 win over Sam Houston State to set up the rematch with the Crimson Tide who defeated Virginia Tech 35-10 in their season opener before going on a bye the week before the A&M game.

 A&M got the ball to start the game as Manziel would complete passes of 32 and 35 yards to wide receiver Mike Evans to set up a one-yard touchdown run by running back Cameron Clear to give the Aggies a 7-0 lead just 2:39 into the game.

After forcing the Tide to go three-and-out on their opening possession of the game, the Aggies got the ball back at their 41-yard-line as Manziel ran the ball twice for 24 yards before connecting with Evans again, this time for 34 yards to set up another one-yard touchdown run, this one by running back Ben Malena to extend the A&M lead to 14-0 midway through the first quarter.

At this point, the Tide were getting thoughts of deja vu as the Aggies had jumped out to a 20-0 lead in their upset the year before, but the Alabama offense would respond with a touchdown on their ensuing possession as McCarron completed four of five passes for 60 yards on a six-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with McCarron throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kevin Norwood to get Bama on the scoreboard and cut the Aggies' lead to 14-7 with 5:24 left in the first quarter.

Aggies wide receiver Mike Evans caught four passes for 135 yards in the first quarter alone as he finished the game with 279 yards on seven catches.

The Aggies' Brandon Williams would have trouble receiving the ensuing kickoff as the ball bounced off his hands and went out of bounds at the Texas A&M two-yard-line meaning the Aggies would have drive to 98 yards for a touchdown.

It looked like the Aggies were going to drive the length of the field as a 34-yard pass from Manziel to Evans help moved A&M to the Alabama 34-yard-line when it looked like the Aggies were going to be in the red zone again after Evans caught a 19-yard pass from Manziel.

But Evans would be called for pass interference which negated the 19-yard catch and pushed the Aggies back 15 yards to the Alabama 49-yard-line as A&M would be forced to punt the ball to the Tide who would take over at their 20-yard-line.

A 21-yard pass from McCarron to wide receiver Amari Cooper and a 15-yard pass to tight end O.J. Howard moved Alabama to the Aggies' 44-yard-line when the Tide went into their bag of tricks as McCarron handed the ball off to fullback Jalston Fowler, who tossed the ball back to McCarron on a flea-flicker, who fired a pass for a wide open DeAndrew White for the 44-yard touchdown on the third play of the second quarter to tie the game at 14.

On their next possession, the Aggies would drive from their 25-yard-line to the Alabama 34-yard-line when on 3rd & 8, Manziel faded back to the 50-yard-line where it looked like he was going to be sacked by Alabama defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan, only for Manziel to escape the grasp of Pagan and drop back to the A&M 40-yard-line when he lobbed a desperation pass that was caught by Aggies wide receiver Edward Pope for a 12-yard gain and a 1st down at the Alabama 22-yard-line.

The Aggies were on the cusp of retaking the lead as three straight running plays for 18 yards put A&M at the Alabama four-yard-line when Manziel was picked off in the end zone by Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones to end the A&M threat and give the Tide the ball at their 20-yard-line.

A two-yard run by running back Kenyon Drake and a 27-yard pass to Howard put the Tide at their 49-yard-line when McCarron completed a short pass to wide receiver Kenny Bell, who then outran the Aggies defense for the 51-yard touchdown to give the Tide their first lead of the game at 21-14 with 8:55 left in the second quarter.

Following a Texas A&M three-and-out, the Tide would rely on their running game to move down the field and keep Manziel off the field as running back T.J. Yeldon carried the ball three straight times for a total of 26 yards to begin the drive as Bama moved into A&M territory when Kenyon Drake got the call on back-to-back plays as he also ran for a total of 26 yards to move the Tide to the Aggies' four-yard-line.

Yeldon would then finish off the 11-play, 93-yard drive that took nearly six-and-a-half minutes to complete as Yeldon ran it in for the four-yard touchdown to extend the Crimson Tide's lead to 28-14 with 45 seconds left in the first half.

Manziel would get one last chance to put some points on the board for the Aggies before the first half as he led A&M to the Alabama 25-yard-line before time ran out on the first half with the Tide ahead 28-14 and set to get the ball to start the second half.

However, the Tide would go three-and-out on their opening possession of the first half as they punted the ball to the Aggies who took over at their 34-yard-line as a nine-yard run by Manziel would bring up a 2nd & 1 situation when Manziel threw a pass that was deflected and intercepted by Alabama strong safety Vinnie Sunseri, who then run it back for a 73-yard pick-six to increase the Crimson Tide's lead to 35-14 with 12:41 left in the third quarter.

Having given up 35 unanswered points, the Aggies needed a score on their ensuing possession which they would get as Manziel led the Aggies on a nine-play, 58-yard drive that was capped off with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Manziel to wide receiver Malcome Kennedy to trim the Crimson Tide's advantage to 35-21 with 9:33 to go in the third quarter.

The Tide would begin its next drive at their 17-yard-line as McCarron completed passes of 10 yards to White and 12 yards to Christion Jones on the opening two plays of the drive before the Tide went back to the running game as they ran the ball on eight consecutive plays with the last play being a three-yard touchdown run by Drake to push the Alabama lead back to 21 points at 42-21 with 4:16 remaining in the third quarter.

Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon averaged nearly six yards per carry as he ran for 149 yards on 25 carries and scored one touchdown.

The two teams would trade punts as the game moved into the fourth quarter when Manziel led the Aggies on a quick four-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took only 90 seconds to complete as Manziel would find Kennedy again, this time for a 12-yard touchdown to once again make it a two-possession game at 42-28.

The Tide would start their next drive at their 25-yard-line with a 26-yard pass from McCarron to White which was followed by six straight runs by Yeldon for 33 yards plus a 15-yard penalty on the A&M defense to help put Alabama on the cusp of putting the game away as they had the ball at the Aggies' one-yard-line.

However, the maligned Aggies defense would force a turnover when free safety Steven Jenkins hit Yeldon so hard he fumbled the football as linebacker Shaan Washington would make the recovery to give A&M the ball at their four-yard-line

An incomplete pass and an one-yard run by Tre Carson would set up 3rd & 9 when Manziel threw a deep pass down the right sideline for Evans, who made the catch around the Aggies' 40-yard-line, then outrace the rest of the Alabama defense for a shocking 95-yard touchdown cut the Crimson Tide's lead to 42-35 with 8:04 to go in regulation.

With the momentum on the Aggies' side, the Tide would begin their next possession at their 35-yard-line as Yeldon looked to atone for his fumble as he ran for 24 yards on the first two plays of the drive to move Alabama into A&M territory as an incomplete pass and an illegal shift penalty would set up a 2nd & 15 at the Texas A&M 46-yard-line.

That is when McCarron completed a 26-yard pass to Howard to give Alabama  a 1st down at the Aggies' 20-yard-line as four straight running plays for 15 yards would put the Tide at the A&M five-yard-line when McCarron faked a handoff and found Fowler for the touchdown to extend the Bama lead to 49-35 with 2:28 left in regulation.

Needing a touchdown to stay alive, Manziel would lead the Aggies on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Kennedy catching his third touchdown pass of the game, this one for four yards to trim the Crimson Tide lead to 49-42 with just 15 seconds to go.

The Aggies would attempt an onside kick but Cooper would recover the kick for the Tide as McCarron would take a knee to run out the clock as Alabama would come out of College Station with a 49-42 in a game that had a combined 92 points and 1,196 yards of offense.

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel accounted for 562 yards of total offense as he threw for 464 yards and five touchdown passes while running for 98 yards on 14 carries.

A&M would not live up to their national title aspirations as the Aggies would go on to finish the regular season with a 8-4 record which included a 45-41 loss to the Auburn Tigers in the middle of the season(To read about that game, click on the link which is highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2023/09/college-football-old-school-game-of_20.html).

The Aggies would finish the season with a trip to the Peach Bowl where Manziel led the Aggies back from a 21-point deficit to defeat the Duke Blue Devils 52-48 as "Johnny Football" would account for 455 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in what be the final game of his collegiate career as he would forego his final two seasons of eligibility and enter the 2014 NFL Draft.

As for the Tide, they would retain their #1 ranking throughout the season as their defense which gave up 628 yards to the Aggies, would allow only 50 points over the next nine games of the season to improve their record to 11-0 when they met Auburn in the Iron Bowl.

It was this game that would not the Crimson Tide's chances of a third straight national championship as the Tigers defeated the Tide 34-28 with the famous "Kick-Six" where Auburn's Chris Davis would run back an Alabama missed final goal 100 yards for the game-winning touchdown on the final play of the game.

Alabama would up play Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl where the Sooners upset the Crimson Tide 45-31 as the Tide would finish the season with a 11-2 record and #7 ranking in the final AP poll and #8 ranking in the final coaches poll.