We Speak College Football

Russell Rallies the Tide: Alabama Scores 14 in the Fourth to Beat Texas A&M 31-20

Published

2 hours ago

October 25, 2026

Photo: Alabama Football / Instagram

Alabama trailed in the fourth quarter at home, staring at a third straight loss. Keelon Russell would not let it happen. Russell threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns — two of them in the fourth quarter — as No. 13 Alabama rallied past Texas A&M 31-20 on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The first half was a wild swing of momentum. Cornerback Dijon Lee Jr. opened the scoring with a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown, and Chuck McDonald III picked off Marcel Reed again on the very next play. Reed settled down and answered, hitting Mario Craver for a 9-yard touchdown and running for a 4-yard score to put the Aggies up 14-10. Russell’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Hill put Alabama back in front, but Reed’s second interception of the day — this time thrown by Russell into the hands of Dezz Ricks — set up a David Olano field goal that sent the game to halftime tied 17-17.

Texas A&M (4-4, 1-4 SEC) edged ahead 20-17 on Olano’s 24-yard field goal in the third quarter, and the game flipped for good on one snap: Reed fumbled the exchange on fourth-and-1 late in the third quarter, and Alabama recovered. On the final play of the period, Russell found Rico Scott for 40 yards down to the 3. Scott finished with six catches for 156 yards.

Russell cashed it in on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Marshall Pritchett that gave Alabama the lead for good. After another defensive stop, Russell hit Kaleb Edwards for an 8-yard touchdown on third-and-goal to make it 31-20 with 10:01 to play.

An Alabama defense thinned by injuries closed the door from there, forcing three straight Texas A&M punts. The Aggies managed just 15 yards in the fourth quarter. Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC) stops a two-game slide and stays alive in the conference race heading into its open week.

Photo: Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

We Speak College Football

Six Straight: No. 12 Kentucky Erases Early Hole to Beat Vanderbilt 34-17

Published

2 hours ago

October 25, 2026

We Speak Media

Photo: Kentucky Football / Instagram

For the sixth straight week, Kentucky fell behind. For the sixth straight week, Kentucky won anyway. The No. 12 Wildcats spotted Vanderbilt a 10-0 lead, then scored on six consecutive possessions to win 34-17 on Saturday night at Kroger Field.

Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-5 SEC) authored the perfect start: a 45-yard punt return by Martel Hight set up a field goal, and a 16-play, 95-yard drive ended with Jared Curtis’ 3-yard touchdown pass to Jayvontay Conner. Curtis, the Commodores’ true freshman quarterback, completed 27 of 36 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, and Junior Sherrill caught eight passes for 78 yards.

Kentucky’s answer came in waves. Kenny Minchey threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to DJ Miller, and tight end Willie Rodriguez lined up in the backfield, took a direct snap and scored from the 1 to give Kentucky a 14-10 halftime lead. A 75-yard drive out of the break ended in Brennen Ward’s rushing touchdown. Minchey finished 19-of-26 for 203 yards and also ran for a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, while Rodriguez added six catches for 67 yards to go with his rushing score.

Curtis pulled Vanderbilt within 21-17 on a fourth-and-3 touchdown strike to Ja’Cory Thomas, but the finish belonged to Kentucky’s defense. Adam Zouagui kicked field goals of 47 and 32 yards — the second set up by a strip-sack of Curtis — and Ty Bryant’s fourth interception in three games set up Minchey’s late touchdown run. Kentucky outgained Vanderbilt 376-262 and closed the game on a 13-0 run.

At 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the SEC, Kentucky is off to its best league start since 1977 and has won five straight conference games for the first time since that season. Vanderbilt has lost five in a row and remains winless in SEC play.

Photo: Jordan Prather / Imagn Images