Tua Tagovailoa throws for over 300 yards in win over No. 22 Texas A&M

Tua+Tagovailoa+throws+for+over+300+yards+in+win+over+No.+22+Texas+A%26M

Cody Estremera, Sports Editor

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took the snap and lofted a pass to the south end zone. DeVonta Smith dove and brought in the 30-yard catch for a seven-point lead, which Alabama would never relinquish. Alabama finished off the No. 22 Texas A&M Aggies 45-23.

Tagovailoa dominated for his fourth-straight game. The sophomore threw for a career-high 387 yards and added four touchdowns. The 387 yards was the fifth most in school history. Twelve of his 22 completions went for more than 15 yards, including two touchdowns.

The offense continued to spread the ball around, as three receivers finished with a touchdown. Henry Ruggs led all receivers with 84 yards.

Tight end Hale Hentges finished with a season-high two catches and two touchdowns.

“I never dreamed of getting two,” Hentges said. I always thought about catching one, but two is a dream come true.”

He had three touchdowns all of last year.

Alabama continued its quick-strike offense, as the Crimson Tide scored two touchdowns in less than a minute.

Ruggs took a shovel pitch from Tagovailoa and sprinted 57 yards to for a touchdown. It took just 29 seconds to cover 92 yards on that drive.

“We all just understand each other,” Ruggs said. “We just understand the game plan, and how we want to execute it. We trying to go out and score fast, so we can set the tempo for the whole game.”

The running game was subpar for the most part. The Crimson Tide had just 46 yards on the ground at the 3:20 mark of the third quarter.

“I think people know that we can run the ball,” Harris said. “Our offense is based around getting players the ball. Whoever has the hot hand is kind of who we’re going to feed. We have so many playmakers on the field that it’s kind of hard to get everyone the ball.”

It finished with 109 yards.

Coach Nick Saban was frustrated on how the team finished the game. The Crimson Tide

“They had 72 offensive plays and we had 61,” Saban said. “They’re time of possession was way greater than ours. We would be able to control the line of scrimmage, finish the game, run the ball when we need to run it. We may throw it the best that we have ever had, but that’s not all there is to it.”

Alabama plays Louisiana Lafayette on Sept. 29.