The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2021 season / Reign #316 · Game 1,577 of 1,641
October 9, 2021 Week 6 · Regular Season Belt changed hands

Texas A&M takes the belt, 41–38, at home over Alabama.

Home · New Holder
Texas A&M 41
AT
Away · Defending Holder
AlabamaAP No. 1 38

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

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Texas A&M took the belt here, ending Alabama’s run of 315 days and 10 defenses (reign #315) and starting reign #316. It lasted 35 days and 3 defenses, until Ole Miss took it on November 13, 2021.

For Texas A&M this was its 7th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 3 times before — and it took it back here.

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

AI-Written

Recap

Texas A&M stunned Alabama 41-38 in College Station, seizing the College Football Belt with a thrilling upset victory. The Aggies came out hot, with Zach Calzada finding Jalen Wydermyer twice in the first quarter—once for 34 yards and once for a touchdown—and adding a score to Ainias Smith to jump out to an early lead despite Alabama answering with a touchdown to Roydell Williams. Alabama's superior offensive efficiency threatened to take over in the second half, with Bryce Young leading scoring drives and the Crimson Tide taking a 38-31 lead in the fourth quarter after a two-point conversion to Jameson Williams with 5:00 remaining. But Texas A&M refused to fold, as Ainias Smith caught a touchdown pass with three minutes left and Seth Small nailed a clutch 28-yard field goal with no time remaining to secure the dramatic one-possession victory.

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
 Texas A&MAlabama
Total yards379522
Rushing yards94153
Passing yards285369
First downs2425
3rd down conv.4/109/19
Turnovers12
Penalties–yards6–508–82
Time of possession26:2133:39

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 11:35Texas A&M+38 ydSeth Small 38 yd FG GOOD
Q1 6:42Alabama+20 ydBryce Young pass complete to Roydell Williams for 20 yds for a TD, (Will Reichard KICK)
Q1 6:02Texas A&M+34 ydZach Calzada pass complete to Jalen Wydermyer for 34 yds to the Alab 27 for a 1ST down
Q1 5:26Texas A&M+27 ydZach Calzada pass complete to Jalen Wydermyer for 27 yds for a TD, (Seth Small KICK)
Q1 4:17Alabama+4 ydBrian Robinson Jr. run for 1 yd to the Alab 45 Brian Robinson Jr. fumbled, recovered by TexAM , return for 4 yds to the Alab 41
Q1 0:33Texas A&M+6 ydZach Calzada pass complete to Ainias Smith for 6 yds for a TD, (Seth Small KICK)
Q1 0:13Alabama+40 ydBryce Young pass complete to John Metchie III for 40 yds to the TexAM 20 for a 1ST down
Q2 13:36Alabama+3 ydBryce Young pass intercepted Demani Richardson return for 3 yds to the TexAM 3
Q2 7:09Texas A&M+0 ydZach Calzada pass intercepted DeMarcco Hellams return for no gain to the TexAM 40
Q2 5:44Alabama+38 ydWill Reichard 38 yd FG GOOD
Q2 7:03Alabama+24 ydBrian Robinson Jr. run for 24 yds to the TexAM 16 for a 1ST down
Q2 5:09Texas A&M+33 ydZach Calzada pass complete to Devon Achane for 33 yds to the Alab 44 for a 1ST down
Q2 2:09Texas A&M+15 ydIsaiah Spiller run for 15 yds for a TD, (Seth Small KICK)
Q2 2:00Alabama+29 ydBryce Young pass complete to Brian Robinson Jr. for 29 yds to the TexAM 46 for a 1ST down
Q3 8:18Texas A&M+0 ydNik Constantinou punt blocked by Ja'Corey Brooks blocked by Ja'Corey Brooks for a TD, (Will Reichard KICK)
Q3 8:00Alabama+96 ydDevon Achane 96 Yd Kickoff Return (Seth Small Kick)
Q3 7:46Alabama+24 ydBrian Robinson Jr. run for 24 yds to the Alab 49 for a 1ST down
Q3 5:30Alabama+29 ydBryce Young pass complete to Jameson Williams for 29 yds for a TD, (Will Reichard KICK)
Q4 14:04Alabama+26 ydWill Reichard 26 Yd Field Goal
Q4 13:06Texas A&M+20 ydNik Constantinou punt for 48 yds , JoJo Earle returns for 20 yds to the Alab 32
Q4 8:44Alabama+22 ydWill Reichard 22 Yd Field Goal
Q4 5:15Alabama+32 ydBryce Young pass complete to Jameson Williams for 32 yds to the TexAM 7 for a 1ST down
Q4 5:00Alabama+7 ydBryce Young pass complete to Jameson Williams for 7 yds for a TD, (Bryce Young pass to Jameson Williams for Two-Point Conversion)
Q4 3:00Texas A&M+25 ydZach Calzada pass complete to Ainias Smith for 25 yds for a TD, (Seth Small KICK)
Q4 0:00Texas A&M+28 ydSeth Small 28 yd FG GOOD

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

Texas A&M

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Zach Calzada21/312859.23192.2

Alabama

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Bryce Young28/483697.73181.9

Rushing

Texas A&M

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Isaiah Spiller17462.7116
Devon Achane7344.9011
Zach Calzada2126.0011
Ainias Smith122.002

Alabama

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Brian Robinson Jr.241476.1024
Jameson Williams144.004
Roydell Williams231.503
Bryce Young7-1-0.1015

Receiving

Texas A&M

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Ainias Smith68514.2225
Jalen Wydermyer37324.3134
Devon Achane34515.0033
Isaiah Spiller44310.8017
Demond Demas22010.0014
Jalen Preston2126.007
Chase Lane177.007

Alabama

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Jameson Williams1014614.6232
John Metchie78812.6040
Brian Robinson Jr.46015.0029
Roydell Williams22814.0120
JoJo Earle11919.0019
Slade Bolden2168.009
Cameron Latu11010.0010
Traeshon Holden122.002
Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

Texas A&M

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Aaron Hansford9600000
Leon O'Neal Jr.9511100
Andre White Jr.8100000
Demani Richardson7200.5000
DeMarvin Leal7100000
Antonio Johnson6300010
Edgerrin Cooper5300100
Tyreek Chappell5300.5000
Jaylon Jones5200000
Tyree Johnson4222000
Jayden Peevy4100010
Micheal Clemons3211130
Isaiah Raikes2100000
McKinnley Jackson2100000
Chris Russell1100000
Adarious Jones1000000
Devon Achane0000001

Alabama

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Brian Branch11802000
DeMarcco Hellams7400000
Henry To'o To'o6200100
Will Anderson Jr.6100000
Jordan Battle5300100
Dallas Turner5201000
Christian Harris4300000
Phidarian Mathis3000000
Jalyn Armour-Davis2200000
Tim Smith2101000
Byron Young1100000
DJ Dale1100000
Josh Jobe1000000
King Mwikuta0000001

Fumbles

Texas A&M

PlayerFUMLOSTREC
Leon O'Neal Jr.001

Alabama

PlayerFUMLOSTREC
Brian Robinson Jr.110

Interceptions

Texas A&M

PlayerINTYDSTD
Demani Richardson130

Alabama

PlayerINTYDSTD
DeMarcco Hellams100

Kick Returns

Texas A&M

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Devon Achane19696.0961
Jalen Preston100.000

Alabama

No recorded stats in this category.

Kicking

Texas A&M

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Seth Small2/2100.0385/511

Alabama

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Will Reichard3/3100.0383/312

Punt Returns

Texas A&M

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Ainias Smith144.040

Alabama

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Ja'Corey Brooks11919.0190
JoJo Earle2178.5200
King Mwikuta100.001

Punting

Texas A&M

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Nik Constantinou417744.30150

Alabama

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
James Burnip414035.00243

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 401282103) · This game in the downloadable dataset