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), playing in the Southeastern Conference for the first season, also may have ended the league’s run of BCS titles at six years.
The Crimson Tide (9-1, 6-1) didn’t go quietly.
A.J. McCarron nearly pulled off a second straight 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 1:36 left.
Manziel passed for 253 yards and rushed for 92 and led the Aggies to a 20-0 first quarter lead.
“No moment is too big for him,” coach Kevin Sumlin said of his remarkable redshirt freshman.
Alabama kept coming back but never caught up with Manziel and Texas A&M.
Alabama, the nation’s top scoring defense, forced a punt with less than a minute left, but A&M never had to kick it away. The Tide was penalized for offisides, giving Texas A&M a first down and a chance to kneel out the clock.
Watch the game-clinching interception in the video below.
