Alabama vs. Texas A&M looked like one of the SEC's budding rivalries during the Johnny Manziel era in College Station, but the Crimson Tide have topped the Aggies 133-37 over the last three seasons.

Top-ranked Alabama has plenty of momentum after last week's 66-3 shellacking of Ole Miss, while Texas A&M enters the matchups riding high after a thrilling 24-17 win over South Carolina

The Crimson Tide are 26.5-point favorites over the Aggies.

Viewing information

Date: Saturday, Oct. 7 | Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
Location: Kyle Field -- College Station, Texas
TV: ESPN | Live streamWatchESPN

Storylines

Alabama: Can you be on more of a roll than Alabama? After defeating its first two SEC opponents by a combined score of 125-3, no, not really. The running game is on point with Damien Harris, Bo Scarbrough, Najee Harris and quarterback Jalen Hurts, and is averaging a league-best 315.6 yards per game and rather terrifying 6.66 yards per carry. The front seven has managed to navigate through some early-season injuries to be as terrifying as ever, and the Crimson Tide has shown no weakness over the first month of the season. 

Texas A&M: Very quietly -- mostly because people stopped paying attention after Texas A&M blew a 34-point lead at UCLA in the season opener -- the Aggies have developed a rather effective offensive attack. The combination of quarterback Kellen Mond and running backs Keith Ford and Trayveon Williams have helped coach Kevin Sumlin's crew boast the SEC's second-best rushing attack (255.6 yards per game, and the staff is starting to hand more of the passing offense to Mond on a weekly basis. Defensively, they are aggressive (13 sacks over the last two games) and opportunistic (a league-best 12 turnovers gained). Is that real, or a product of relatively weak competition? We'll find out Saturday night.

Prediction

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban called the Aggies "the strongest team he's played all around" this year, and -- with apologizes to Florida State -- that might be true. The multi-dimensional rushing attack will put stress on Alabama's edge defenders, tempo will stress its depth and, if Mond hits a home run or two early, could put real pressure on the Tide for the first time all year. Not enough to spring an upset though. This game will be close for the first two or three quarters, before Alabama forces a mistake or two from Mond and pulls away for a comfortable win -- but not a cover. Pick: Aggies +26.5