Several improvements key to Alabama Football road win over Texas A&M - Bama Hammer

Alabama football earned their first top 25 road win against Texas A&M with hot hands on offense and improvements from the special teams and defense.

The Alabama football team took to the road taking on Texas A&M this week fighting through a hostile environment full of 100,000+ fans earning their first statement win for the season. The offense showed out per usual putting up nearly 450 yards of offense. Tua surpassed AJ McCarron’s total touchdowns record adding four more touchdowns to his running season total.

The offensive line has improved dramatically throughout the course of the season so far. They are playing more aggressively and cohesively. Tua was only pressured a handful of times. For the most part, he had plenty of time to deliver accurate passes. The five starters in this game should be the five as the season continues.

As a result of improved offensive line play, the Tide was also more successful in ramping up the run game. Tua managed nearly 300 passing yards, while the running backs accounted for 155 rushing yards. While the numbers weren’t huge, the yards came at key times. Najee Harris and Brian Robinson ran the ball well earning important yards in short-yardage necessary situations.

Alabama football special teams were a huge success

Special teams had a hugely successful day as well. Jaylen Waddle accounted for 128 return yards on four returns. Henry Ruggs managed 131 return yards on four returns of his own. Ale Kaho blocked his second punt on the season which was returned for a touchdown. Bulovas who is still in for the injured Will Reichard went two for two on field goals and five for six on extra points. One extra point was blocked.

Defensive improvements encouraging

The most encouraging part of the game was the defensive improvements. It surely was not a flawless game. It was not the defensive story of a few years ago either. However, it was an improvement from earlier in the season.

The Alabama football defense was able to get pressure on Kellen Mond several times, many of which came with only three to four guys rushing. Being able to get pressure on quarterbacks without having to send an extra linebacker will be a huge advantage playing teams like LSU and Auburn later in the season when they will need the extra guy in coverage. The defensive line played their best game of the season.

Many of Kellen Mond’s passes were dime throws followed by incredible catches that were well defended. Sometimes you have to tip your hat to those and recognize the defensive back couldn’t have covered it any better. Kellen Mond was able to bust loose a few times at the end of the game, but for the most part, the Alabama defense contained Mond well.

The young linebackers were thrown out of position a few times from motion by the Texas A&M offense. Overall though, the missed tackles were much improved. Shyheim Carter, Xavier McKinney, Terrell Lewis, and Anfernee Jennings all had huge games for the Tide.

Next: Nick Saban's top running backs

If the team can continue to build on this progress, the rest of the season should pan out nicely. The first season-defining game will come four weeks for now as the LSU Tigers make their way to Bryant Denny.

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