Aggies Set to Face No. 1 Alabama

Saturday, October 8

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

7:00 PM

Texas A&M

Alabama

Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics

Oct 07, 2022 | Football

By: Athletics Communications

Texas A&M continues its four-game road swing as the Aggies face No. 1 Alabama Saturday night inside Bryant-Denny Stadium (7:10 p.m., CBS).

GAME 6: TEXAS A&M (3-2, 1-1) at #1 ALABAMA (5-0, 2-0)

Saturday, October 8 • 7:10 p.m. (CT)
Bryant-Denny Stadium (101,821)
TV: CBS (Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson, Jenny Dell)
Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network, SiriusXM 191 (Andrew Monaco, Dave Elmendorf, Will Johnson)
Live Audio: 12th Man Mobile app
Live Stats: Click Here

GAME NOTES (PDF)

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

The Aggies remain on the road for the third straight week, traveling to Alabama ... A&M knocked off the Tide last season, earning a 41-38 victory at Kyle Field.
Junior RB Devon Achane ranks third in the SEC averaging 93.20 rushing yards per game and racking up 466 total yards on the ground.
Achane leads all Power 5 players with a 34.25 kickoff return average (8-274 yards) in 2022 ... He scored the second KOR TD of his career with a 95-yard sprint to the end zone against App State.
Sophomore WR Moose Muhammad III had a career day at Mississippi State, finishing with 119 yards on six catches and his first trip to the end zone this season, fifth of his career.
Senior DB Demani Richardson has put his veteran leadership and versatility on display this season, leading the team with 36 career starts ... He is one of three players in the SEC to force multiple fumbles on the year and ranks third among league DBs with 2.5 tackles for loss.
Junior DB Antonio Johnson and senior LB Chris Russell Jr. each rank among the top 10 tacklers in the SEC ... Johnson is second in the SEC with 46 tackles on the year after leading the Aggies in the category for the third time this season with eight takedowns against Mississippi State ... Russell Jr. added seven tackles against the Bulldogs to up his season total to 36, good for seventh in the league.
Sophomore DB Jardin Gilbert has been a key contributor on the Aggie defense in his first year as a starter ... After making multiple tackles in a game just three times last season, Gilbert has tallied at least five takedowns in all five games this season, helping lead the way at Mississippi State with seven.

Moose Muhammad III

QUICK HITS

Junior RB Devon Achane had a busy day against Mississippi State, catching all six passes that came his way and recording the seventh 100-yard game of his career en-route to tallying 208 all-purpose yards (111 rush, 28 receiving and 76 kickoff return) ... He became the first Aggie to rack up over 200 AP yards in a game since Isaiah Spiller had 224 yards against UTSA in 2019.
Achane’s 111 yards on the ground and sophomore WR Moose Muhammad III’s 119 yards through the air marked the first time the Aggies have had a rusher and receiver eclipse the century mark in the same game since the win over New Mexico in 2021.
After recording just six pass breakups in the first two games, the Maroon & White defense has broken up at least four passes in each of the last three games ... Sophomores DB Tyreek Chappell and LB Edgerrin Cooper are tied for ninth in the SEC with four breakups each on the season, while Cooper is tied for first among league linebackers in the category.
The Aggies defense is tied for third in the SEC, forcing five fumbles on the year ... A&M has forced at least one fumble in every game this season.
A&M has defended 24 passes on the year, which is good for fifth among SEC teams.
A&M’s 23-21 win over No. 10 Arkansas marked the eighth victory for the Maroon & White over an AP top 15 team under head coach Jimbo Fisher, the fourth over an AP top 10 opponent.
Quick starts have been a harbinger of Aggie victories in the Jimbo Fisher era ... The Aggies are 28-4 when scoring first and a perfect 26-0 when leading after the first quarter.

Moose Muhammad III

MOOSE STEPPING UP

With the Aggies looking for a spark at wide receiver after the loss of senior leader Ainias Smith to injury, sophomore WR Moose Muhammad III was up to the task in his second career start last week vs. Mississippi State. Muhammad III led the Aggies with 119 receiving yards on six receptions, both career bests, and he also grabbed his first TD catch of the 2022 season.
Muhammad III also stepped in Smith’s role at punt returner against MSU, with 22 yards on a pair of returns, including a 20-yarder.

Devon Achane

ACHANE IS OFF THE CHAIN

Junior RB Devon Achane leads the Aggies in his first season as the premier back after flexing his speed and versatility last year.
It took Achane just three games this season to show off his versatility and reach the end zone as rusher, receiver and returner, totaling a team-best five touchdowns so far this year ... He is the only player in the nation that has reached the end zone as a rusher, receiver and kickoff returner.
Achane made it back-to-back games with 100-plus yards on the ground for the second time in his career after tallying 111 on 16 carries at Mississippi State to register his seventh career 100-yard game.
Achane racked up a career-high 156 yards on the ground, in the win over Arkansas to register his first 100-yard game of the 2022 season.
Against App State, Achane’s two trips to the end zone marked the seventh multi-TD game of his career, when he scored on a 26-yard rush to put the Aggies on the board and later added the second special teams touchdown of his career.
Achane leads all Power 5 players averaging 166.4 all-purpose yards per game, while his 832 total yards on the season are good for second nationally.
Achane is quickly climbing A&M’s career all-purpose yards list, needing 235 yards to become the 19th Aggie to reach the 3,000 yard mark ... Against Mississippi State he registered A&M’s first 200 AP yard game since the 2019 season, finishing with 208 (11 rush, 21 rec., 76 KOR)
With his 95-yard kickoff return against App State, Achane became the fourth Aggie with multiple kickoff return TDs of 95-or-more yards, joining Leeland McElroy (100 vs. Southern Miss, 1994 and 100 vs. Texas, 1994), Carl Roaches (100 vs. Boston College, 1973 and 97 at LSU, 1972) and Cyrus Gray (99 at Colorado, 2009 and 98 vs. Oklahoma, 2008).
Despite a slow start in 2022, Achane still averages an impressive 6.9 yards per carry for his career (1,740 yards on 254 carries in 25 games) ... Among Aggies with more than 1,400 career yards, Achane is one of three that averaged 6.0-or-more yards per carry -- Johnny Manziel (6.3) and Trayveon Williams (6.0).
The talented back also runs track for the Aggies, receiving NCAA All-America selections in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay ... In April of this year, Achane clocked the sixth-fastest time in A&M history in the 200m (20.20) and posted a time of 10.14 in the 100m at the 2022 Texas Relays.

STARKVILLE, MS - October 01, 2022 - Defensive back Antonio Johnson #27 of the Texas A&M Aggies and Defensive back Deuce Harmon #11 of the Texas A&M Aggies during the Football game between the Mississippi St. Bulldogs and the Texas A&M Aggies at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, MS. Photo By Craig Bisacre

Jaylon Jones and Antonio Johnson

SEASONED SECONDARY

A&M boasts a seasoned secondary that returns five Aggies that have tallied double-digit career starts, as Demani Richardson (36), Myles Jones (30), Jaylon Jones (25), Antonio Johnson (18) and Tyreek Chappell (13) have combined for 122 starts.
The A&M defense ranks 24th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 17.8 points per game and is allowing just 5.8 yards per pass, good for 12th in the country ... The Aggies did not allow a touchdown in the win over then-No. 13 Miami, keeping an AP top 15 team out of the end zone for the second straight season after topping then-No. 12 Auburn 20-3 last year.
Richardson and Chappell teamed up against Arkansas for the Aggies’ first defensive touchdown of the season after Chappell scooped up a loose fumble and later handed it off to Richardson, who took it 82 yards to the house.
Against Miami, A&M’s top five tacklers were all defensive backs, tallying six-or-more takedowns in the victory, while also adding 1.0 TFL and five breakups.
In the season opener against Sam Houston, two of A&M’s leaders in tackles were from the secondary with Richardson also sending the opposing running back 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage and sophomore DB Jardin Gilbert adding the first interception of his career and returning the ball 13 yards in the second quarter.
The Aggies picked up right where they left off last season, shutting out Sam Houston and limiting the Bearkats to just 198 yards of offense, including 91 yards through the air, which marked the sixth game under Coach Fisher that A&M has held its opponent to less than 100 passing yards in a game.
A&M was one of the best in the nation at limiting opponents last season, finishing the year second in the country in points allowed (191) and third in scoring defense (15.9) ... A&M led the SEC in yards allowed (3,930) and pass yards allowed (2,312).

Demani Richardson

AJ, RICHARDSON LEAD DEFENSE

Senior DB Demani Richardson and junior DB Antonio Johnson have taken on the role of veteran leaders on the defense this season.
Richardson is in his fourth year as a starter at safety, leading all Aggies with 36 career starts, and has ranked among the top three on the team in tackles in two of his first three seasons ... He is one of three players in the SEC to have forced multiple fumbles this season.
Richardson has been filling out the stat sheet in his final season in Aggieland as he ranks third among SEC DBs with 2.5 TFL and his two forced fumbles on the year are good for fifth in the country and first in the SEC ... He also adds 26 tackles and three pass breakups.
Richardson helped turn the game around for the Aggies against Arkansas, successfully grabbing the handoff from a wrapped up Tyreek Chappell on a fumble return that was picked up on the 2-yard line and taking it 82 yards to the end zone to put A&M within one after trailing early.
Johnson cemented himself as one of the league’s top tacklers last season and has remained the same this year, currently ranking second in the SEC with 46 total takedowns so far this year.
Johnson registered the fourth double-digit tackle game of his career and second of the season against Arkansas, tallying 13 takedowns to lead the way for the Aggies.
Johnson tallied 79 tackles in 2021, which was the second most on the team ... He led the Aggies and was tied for 11th in the SEC with 53 solo takedowns.