By outreach@cw.ua.edu (Tyler Waldrep)

Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts was only on the sidelines one play before Marlon Humphrey gave him a chance to make up for his mistake.

When he threw the interception to Texas A&M defender Claude George, the freshman was 7-of-13 for only 53 passing yards. Twice he had taken deep shots and twice he had completely overthrown wide receiver Calvin Ridley.

He went deep once more with his first pass attempt after the turnover. This time things were different. This time the ball was right where it needed to be for wide receiver ArDarius Stewart to make a play on the ball.

“I was reading the safeties, it was two high supposed to split. The dude stayed man and I gave him a little shimmy and got past him,” Stewart said.

Unlike previous games this season, the Crimson Tide’s 33-14 victory over No. 6 Texas A&M wasn’t filled with big plays. Stewart’s 45-yard reception was the biggest play of the game for either team.

However, Alabama failed to get any points from it when kicker Adam Griffith missed from 29 yards out after nailing kicks from 28 and 32 yards out earlier.

The play did seem to help Hurts settle into a brief rhythm. He completed five of his next six passes for 93 yards.

When the offense took the field in the second half, the Crimson Tide faced a one-point deficit, but the home team wasn’t playing from behind for long.

Hurts carried it 19 yards to set up a four-yard pass to receiver Calvin Ridley who was able to find the end zone with a little help from another receiver. Stewart ran a parallel route that impeded the two Aggie defenders in the area.

“I try to make plays with or without the ball,” Stewart said. That’s the best player to have on the team the one that can do both. So I just try to perfect my craft.”

Alabama coach Nick Saban said he thought that go-ahead score in combination with the non-offensive touchdown scored by Jonathan Allen shifted the momentum of the game.

“I was really proud of the way our players, after going down 14-13, played in the second half,” Saban said. “After we got in that position, I thought it was great competitive character on their part to persevere.”

Hurts finished the game 15-of-25 for 164 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also carried the ball a game-high 21 times for 93 yards and one touchdown.

Hurts’ favorite target on Saturday was tight end O.J. Howard who entered the game with 14 receptions for 209 yards. Against Texas A&M the tight end managed to haul in eight passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.

“These are the games you live for – top 10 opponent, our home stadium,” Howard said. “I love it. I came back to school to play these types of games.”

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Source:: The Crimson White Sports