How and what to watch for Texas A&M vs. Alabama

The second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide will host the No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies as both teams look to move to 2-0 on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Alabama is coming off a 38-19 road victory over the Missouri Tigers. Bama handled Mizzou fairly easily, and the score may look a little deceiving as the Tigers scored two touchdowns late. Mac Jones threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns, completing 18/24 passes. Bryce Young came on in relief when the game was out of hand, and he completed 5/8 passes for 54 yards. Jaylen Waddle had a monster game with 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns on eight catches. Najee Harris scored three touchdowns on the ground and rushed for 98 yards.

Texas A&M struggled against a Vanderbilt team expected to be the worst in the SEC this season on Saturday. The Aggies got the win 17-12, but a close win over the Commodores is certainly not what they wanted to see heading into their game against the favorite in the SEC. Kellen Mond completed 17/28 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown. Isaiah Spiller rushed for 117 yards on just eight carries to lead the team.

Alabama won the last seven games of this series including 47-28 in College Station, Texas last season.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

Saturday’s game will start at 3:30 p.m. ET at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. This game will appear on CBS.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Texas A&M (+17.5) vs. Alabama
Point Total: O/U 53.5 (-110)
Money line: Texas A&M (+600), Alabama (-1000)

• Texas A&M is 2-4 against the spread in its last six games.
• The point total went under in each of Texas A&M’s last five games.
• Alabama is 10-0 straight up in its last 10 home games.
• The point total went over in four of Alabama’s last six games.

The Best Bet

While the result against Vanderbilt wasn’t ideal, an argument could be made Texas A&M didn’t want to put anything on film for Alabama or the Aggies were simply looking ahead to the Crimson Tide. Regardless, Texas A&M is a quality SEC program and should look better than it did on Saturday. With Tua Tagovailoa and top receivers in the NFL, Alabama may ride its running game. Let’s go with the under in this one.

Pick: Under 53.5

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