The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2016 season / Reign #297 · Game 1,508 of 1,643
October 22, 2016 Week 8 · Regular Season Belt changed hands

Alabama takes the belt, 33–14, at home over Texas A&M.

Home · New Holder
AlabamaAP No. 1 33
AT
Away · Defending Holder
Texas A&MAP No. 6 14

AP poll, week 8: Texas A&M No. 6 at Alabama No. 1 · No. 1 that week: Florida. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Alabama took the belt here, ending Texas A&M’s run of 28 days and 2 defenses (reign #296) and starting reign #297. It lasted 79 days and 6 defenses, until Clemson took it on January 9, 2017.

For Alabama this was its 21st shot at the belt; it had held the belt 9 times before — and it took it back here.

It was the 2nd of 3 belt games between the two; going in, Alabama led the belt series 1–0; all-time Alabama leads 2–1. Every meeting →

AI-Written

Recap

Alabama's defense and special teams controlled this belt-deciding matchup from the opening drive, with Adam Griffith's early field goals setting the tone before Jalen Hurts connected with O.J. Howard for a touchdown to make it 13-0. Texas A&M mounted a brief second-quarter comeback, with Trevor Knight engineering a scoring drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds, but Alabama's opportunistic defense kept the Aggies from gaining momentum, including a crucial interception by Marlon Humphrey that ended a Texas A&M threat in the red zone. The turning point came in the fourth quarter when Hurts broke free on a 37-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach, as Alabama's 287 rushing yards and dominant time of possession (35:50 to 24:10) wore down the Aggies' defense throughout the afternoon.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 AlabamaTexas A&M
Total yards451278
Rushing yards287114
Passing yards164164
First downs2817
3rd down conv.7/145/16
Turnovers22
Penalties–yards7–449–81
Time of possession35:5024:10

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 14:34Alabama+30 ydDamien Harris run for 30 yds to the TexAM 39 for a 1ST down
Q1 11:57Alabama+32 ydAdam Griffith 32 yd FG GOOD
Q1 4:43Alabama+28 ydAdam Griffith 28 yd FG GOOD
Q2 12:59Alabama+5 ydJalen Hurts pass complete to O.J. Howard for 5 yds for a TD, (Adam Griffith KICK)
Q2 14:03Alabama+30 ydDamien Harris run for 30 yds to the TexAM 15 for a 1ST down
Q2 12:21Texas A&M+21 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Keith Ford for 21 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Q2 5:17Alabama-21 ydJalen Hurts pass intercepted Claude George return for 6 yds to the Alab 49 TEXAS A&M Penalty, Personal Foul (Donovan Wilson ejected for targeting) to the Alab 49
Q2 5:10Texas A&M+0 ydTrevor Knight pass intercepted Marlon Humphrey return for no gain to the Alab 25
Q2 4:10Alabama+21 ydJalen Hurts pass complete to O.J. Howard for 21 yds to the TexAM 14 for a 1ST down
Q2 4:33Alabama+46 ydJalen Hurts pass complete to ArDarius Stewart for 46 yds to the TexAM 30 for a 1ST down
Q2 2:20Alabama+29 ydAdam Griffith 29 yd FG MISSED
Q2 1:44Texas A&M+25 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Ricky Seals-Jones for 25 yds to the Alab 44 for a 1ST down
Q2 0:38Texas A&M+9 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Josh Reynolds for 9 yds for a TD, (Daniel LaCamera KICK)
Q2 0:45Texas A&M+27 ydTrevor Knight run for 27 yds to the Alab 9 for a 1ST down
Q2 0:00Alabama+0 ydJalen Hurts pass intercepted, touchback. Justin Evans return for no gain
Q3 13:09Texas A&M+33 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Jeremy Tabuyo for 33 yds to the Alab 25 for a 1ST down
Q3 12:54Texas A&M+25 ydTrevor Knight pass complete to Christian Kirk for 25 yds for a TD, (Daniel LaCamera KICK)
Q3 6:33Alabama+4 ydJalen Hurts pass complete to Calvin Ridley for 4 yds for a TD, (Adam Griffith KICK)
Q3 12:54Texas A&M+23 ydBraden Mann kickoff for 65 yds , ArDarius Stewart return for 23 yds to the Alab 23
Q3 0:21Texas A&M+30 ydKeith Ford run for a loss of 8 yards Keith Ford fumbled, recovered by Alab Jonathan Allen , return for 30 yds, (Two-Point Conversion failed )
Q4 14:50Texas A&M-12 ydTrevor Knight sacked by TEAM for a loss of 12 yards to the TexAM 9 Trevor Knight fumbled, recovered by TexAM , return for 0 yards
Q4 12:27Alabama+37 ydJalen Hurts run for 37 yds for a TD, (Adam Griffith KICK)
Q4 12:27Alabama+32 ydAdam Griffith kickoff for 65 yds , Christian Kirk return for 32 yds to the TexAM 32

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Alabama

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Jalen Hurts15/251646.62256.5

Texas A&M

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Trevor Knight14/311645.32149.4

Rushing

Alabama

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Damien Harris171287.5030
Jalen Hurts21934.4137
Bo Scarbrough8334.1016
Josh Jacobs11333.008

Texas A&M

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Keith Ford15624.1015
Trevor Knight13241.8027
Trayveon Williams9232.6011
Kendall Bussey155.005

Receiving

Alabama

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
O.J. Howard8698.6121
ArDarius Stewart25728.5045
Calvin Ridley4276.819
Josh Jacobs11111.0011

Texas A&M

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Christian Kirk9586.4125
Jeremy Tabuyo13333.0033
Josh Reynolds22713.5118
Ricky Seals-Jones12525.0025
Keith Ford12121.0021
Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

Alabama

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Reuben Foster12800.5000
Ronnie Harrison6401000
Jonathan Allen6311040
Ryan Anderson4403010
Hootie Jones4400100
Eddie Jackson3300000
Marlon Humphrey3301100
Minkah Fitzpatrick3300000
Tim Williams3222010
Dalvin Tomlinson3111.5100
Anthony Averett2200000
Mack Wilson2200000
Tony Brown2100000
Da'Ron Payne2100100
Terrell Lewis2100000
Da'Shawn Hand1111020
Rashaan Evans1100000
Christian Miller1100010
Damien Harris1100000
Joshua Frazier1000000
Derek Kief1000000
Trevon Diggs1000000

Texas A&M

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Shaan Washington11700.5010
Armani Watts8701.5000
Myles Garrett7303.5010
Nick Harvey6500000
Daeshon Hall6400.5010
Otaro Alaka6401.5000
Justin Evans4400000
Daylon Mack4300000
Zaycoven Henderson410.51000
Kingsley Keke3312100
Priest Willis3300000
Alex Sezer3200000
Tyrel Dodson3200000
Qualen Cunningham3100000
Claude George310.50.5000
Donovan Wilson2200000
Reggie Chevis2100000
Clifford Chattman2100000
Jarrett Johnson1111000
Richard Moore1100000
Noel Ellis1000000
Hardreck Walker1000000
Larry Pryor1000000
Roney Elam1000000

Fumbles

Alabama

PlayerFUMLOSTREC
Bo Scarbrough100

Texas A&M

PlayerFUMLOSTREC
Keith Ford110
Trevor Knight100

Interceptions

Alabama

PlayerINTYDSTD
Marlon Humphrey100

Texas A&M

PlayerINTYDSTD
Claude George160
Justin Evans100

Kick Returns

Alabama

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
ArDarius Stewart12323.0230
Dakota Ball11313.0130

Texas A&M

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Justin Evans23316.5170
Christian Kirk13232.0320
Keith Ford11818.0180
Speedy Noil11414.0140

Kicking

Alabama

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Adam Griffith2/366.7323/39

Texas A&M

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Daniel LaCamera0/00.002/22

Punt Returns

Alabama

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Eddie Jackson22110.5170

Texas A&M

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Christian Kirk122.020

Punting

Alabama

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
JK Scott210753.50060

Texas A&M

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Shane Tripucka625542.50053

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 400869029) · This game in the downloadable dataset