The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas A&M Aggies face off on Saturday in Tuscaloosa in a battle of highly ranked SEC teams.

The Alabama Crimson Tide are coming off of what easily was their stiffest test of the year as they went into Baton Rouge and came from behind to beat LSU and keep their number one ranking. A.J. McCarron has completed 66.7 percent of his passes with 19 touchdowns without throwing an interception and he is getting some Heisman Trophy consideration. T.J. Yeldon looks to be a star in the making as he is averaging 7.0 yards per carry with seven touchdowns as well as catching the game winning screen pass at LSU and Eddie Lacy is averaging 5.7 yards per carry with eight touchdowns. Amari Cooper has 32 catches and five touchdowns, Kevin Norwood has 20 catches and two touchdowns, and Christion Jones has 17 catches and three touchdowns. Defensively Alabama allows just 9.1 points per game, 66,3 rushing yards, and 162.6 passing yards with 14 interceptions and 23 sacks. C.J. Mosely has 69 tackles, three sacks, and two interceptions and Nico Johnson and Trey Depriest each have 44 tackles. Alabama is three games away from a perfect regular season but they still have plenty of work ahead of them.

The Texas A&M Aggies are one of the most improved teams in college football and they are also one of the most exciting to watch. The Aggies offense revolves around freshman QB Johnny Manziel who has completed 66.6 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 922 yards and 15 touchdowns. Ben Malena is averaging 6.6 yards per carry and Christine Michael is averaging 4.7 yards per carry with eight touchdowns as the Aggies have plenty of firepower in the backfield. Mike Evans has 56 catches and two touchdowns, Ryan Swope has 45 catches and five touchdowns, and Thomas Johnson has 27 catches. Defensively Texas A&M is allowing 21 points per game, 132.1 rushing yards, and 245 passing yards with seven interceptions and 27 sacks. Damontre Moore has 69 tackles and 11.5 sacks, Jonathan Stewart has 58 tackles, and Steven Jenkins has 52 tackles. Texas A&M’s two losses have come to LSU and Florida, both games which they led and were unable to hold on.

Alabama is 7-3 against the spread following a game which they didn’t cover, 2-5 against the spread in their last seven home games, and 6-2 against the spread in their last eight SEC games. Texas A&M is 1-7 against the spread against a team with a winning record, 7-15 against the spread following a win of 20 or more points, and 4-10 against the spread following a win.

While Manziel presents his own sets of challenges I don’t see the Aggies defense being good enough here in what could be close for a half.