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Johnny Manziel, a redshirt freshman quarterback at Texas A&M, led the 15th-ranked Aggies to a 29-24 upset over the defending champion and No. 1-ranked team in the country Saturday, and he beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala., too.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Johnny Manziel and No. 15 Texas A&M shook up the national championship race by beating No. 1 Alabama 29-24 on Saturday.
The Aggies (8-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) also might have ended the league’s run of BCS titles at six years.
The Crimson Tide (9-1, 6-1) didn’t go quietly.
AJ McCarron nearly pulled off a second consecutive scintillating comeback. He threw one touchdown pass and motored the ball downfield before Deshazor Everett stepped in front of his fourth-down pass at the goal line with 1 minute, 36 seconds left.
Manziel passed for 253 yards and rushed for 92 and led the Aggies to a 20-0 first-quarter lead.
Alabama, the nation’s top scoring defense, forced a punt with less than a minute left but was called for offsides, giving Texas A&M a first down and a chance to run out the clock.
McCarron breathed new life into Alabama with a 54-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline to freshman Amari Cooper to make it 29-24 with 4:29 left.
Then, the interception.
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