The last time Texas A&M football hosted the Alabama Crimson Tide in College Station, the Aggies pulled off an extraordinary upset, taking down Alabama by a final score of 41-38. That was the first and only time Jimbo Fisher got the best of his former coaching mentor Nick Saban. A&M came close to pulling off the upset again last season despite Bryce Young being unavailable but could not deliver the final blow. Jalen Milroe filled in for Young in Tuscaloosa and Alabama was able to escape with a 24-20 victory.

Milroe got his second taste of Texas A&M football this week, but this time he and Alabama made the trip back to College Station. Unlike their previous trip, however, Alabama was victorious and did enough to stave off the Aggies.

They won by a final score of 26-20. This was a very winnable game for the Aggies; they even led 17-10 at halftime. But they couldn't find a way to close the deal. As a result, that will lead to the blame game being played. Who deserves it for the way the Aggies lost? Two areas in particular stand out.

2) Texas A&M's offensive line

Alabama always has a tenacious front seven. Just about every team in the country gets overwhelmed by their pass rush and can't do much against their impenetrable defensive line. Texas A&M was no exception. They could not get anything going in the ground game. Excluding quarterback rushes, the Aggies ran the ball 23 times. They were able to accrue just 70 yards on those carries. That's simply not going to get the job under any circumstances.

The offensive line could not hold up against Alabama's pass rush either. Alabama was able to rack up five sacks against the Aggies on Saturday. As a result, Texas A&M's quarterback Max Johnson totaled -3 yards on 12 carries, with sacks being included in that total. The game essentially got out of hand when Alabama's front had a meeting with Johnson in the end zone and were able to get a safety to put Alabama up two scores.

Every team in the country is going to have a tough time dealing with Alabama's front, but A&M didn't have many answers for it. They got overwhelmed and it ultimately led to their demise in this game.

1) Texas A&M's secondary

Texas A&M's secondary hasn't been a glaring issue for much of this season. Only the Florida Gators (166) and Georgia Bulldogs (166.2) have given up fewer passing yards per game than the 184.8 average the Aggies have relinquished this season. Going up against Jalen Milroe, who has struggled with inconsistency in the intermediate passing game this season, the Aggies could have been regarded as having the upper hand in that matchup.

Despite knowing Milroe's strength being his ability to air it out deep, A&M could not stop it. They got hit with bomb after bomb that led to massive chunk plays for the Crimson Tide. The primary target on those shots was Jermaine Burton, who torched A&M with 197 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions. Burton had more receiving yards by himself than what A&M allows per game this season.

He wasn't the only one to have fun, though. Isaiah Bond also was able to slip past the Aggies' secondary and get loose for a 52-yard touchdown en route to a 96-yard and one-touchdown performance on seven receptions.

Conclusion

Texas A&M's best chance at winning was if they were able to control the line of scrimmage and limit the number of big plays allowed to Milroe and Alabama's offense. They didn't do either all that well. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that they lost to Alabama yet again as a result. Texas A&M will have to regroup for their next matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers.