COLLEGE STATION, TX- No. 1 Alabama falls to unranked Texas A&M on a last-second field goal made by Aggies kicker Seth Small.
On Oct. 9 the Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the Texas A&M Aggies after their kicker Seth Small made a 28-yard field goal to put them over the Crimson Tide 41-38 with time expiring in the 4th quarter. The Aggies snapped Alabama’s 19-consecutive game win streak, which included an undefeated (13-0) season in 2020 and their 100-game winning streak against unranked opponents that dates all the way back to 2007.
The Aggies were first to get on the board with a 38-yard field goal with 11:35 left in the 1st quarter. Alabama responded with a 20-yard touchdown from sophomore running back Roydell Williams. The Aggies defense held the Crimson Tide for the remainder of the 1st quarter. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the same story for the Crimson Tides defense who allowed the Aggies to score twice before the close of the 1st quarter—this gave them a 17-7 advantage over the No.1 ranked team. Texas A&M continued to contain Alabama’s dominant offense by only giving up a 38-yard field goal with 5:44 left in the half. The Aggies scored a 15-yard rushing touchdown giving them a 24-10 lead at the break.
The Crimson Tide started to close the gap when junior linebacker, King Mwikuta, returned a blocked punt a little over six minutes into the second half, cutting the lead to just seven. Alabama’s momentum did not last long as Texas A&M running back Devon Achane returned a kick 96 yards only 18 seconds later. The Crimson Tide scored once more before the end of the 3rd quarter making it 24-31.
Alabama started their comeback campaign and gained momentum in the 4th with two field goals to bring the game with a point. A touchdown and 2-point conversion three minutes later gave them a 38-31 lead over the Aggies, which was their first lead of the game. The Aggies tied the game up with a 25-yard touchdown with only three minutes left in the game. Their defense held off Alabama allowing The Aggies a chance to beat Alabama for only the second time in the two schools’ history of playing each other, and the first since November 2011. Kicker Seth Small kicked a 28-yard game-winning field goal to give the Aggies a 41-38 victory over the Crimson Tide.
Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said in a post-game interview with ESPN that “Our team beat a really good football team…and that’s what’s important to me…our football team is learning to play against other great football teams and have success.” This may have been the win the Aggies were looking for to get back on track after losing back-to-back games to No. 16 Arkansas and Mississippi State.