In a play that’ll be dissected for a bit nationally and longer in College Station, Jimbo Fishers figured he dialed up the “perfect” read.

Haynes King dropped back, two yards away from another Texas A&M upset of Alabama and watched Evan Stewart run a “plyon route” to come back to the ball. It was a variation of the play that garnered the Aggies a touchdown earlier Saturday night, but Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold was there and the potential game-winner bounced into the sidelines.

“We had what we wanted to go to. We knew what we wanted to go to,” Fisher said following the 24-20 loss. “… Give them credit. They made the play when they had to.

“There are no such things as moral victories but it did show you what we’re capable of and how we can play. … We were a good team today. We just came up one play short.”

No. 1 Alabama (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) was outgained by Texas A&M (3-3, 1-2) in the fourth quarter, 103-33, as Fisher nearly pulled off a comeback. A&M rallied off four Tide turnovers and a pair of missed field goals.

Like the Tide and Jalen Milroe, Texas A&M played with its backup quarterback. King threw for 253 yards on 25-of-46 attempts. The roster limitations shouldn’t garner any sympathy for A&M, though.

“We went toe-to-toe with them. That shows you what you’re capable of.

“We didn’t have Ainias Smith, we didn’t have our left tackle. We didn’t have our left guard. We didn’t have McKinnley Jackson. … We’ve been short-handed all year, too. We don’t look for qualms. They don’t either. He won’t either. I know Nick. He ain’t gonna look for no qualms,” Fisher said.

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Alabama’s pass rush caused problems for King from the opening snap. Will Anderson, Dallas Turner and others combined for 14 quarterback hurries, six tackles for loss and three sacks. Comparatively, A&M generated two rushes on Milroe. Texas A&M converted five of 17 third-down attempts and once on two fourth-down tries.

“We knew that front, man, they could rush,” Fishers said. “We slid, shifted, booted, moved the pocket. But then sometimes you get third down and you don’t win. You got to drop back and throw the football.”

Before the game, much attention was paid to the offseason fireworks shot from the mouths of Saban and Fisher toward one another’s programs regarding NIL and recruiting. Fisher was asked about that having any impact on Saturday night, calling it “another game” that doubled as a measuring stick for where A&M stacks up in the SEC West.

Did their prior comments come up when meeting Saban at midfield either before or after the contest?

“I told him he had a good team and wished him good luck for the rest of the year. He did the same to me. We talked before the game, did our whole deal,” Fisher said.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].