Defensive back Deion Belue went down in the second quarter of Alabama’s 49-42 victory over Texas A&M.
Belue limped off the field and didn’t return to the game. He was on the sideline in sweat pants and wore a walking boot on his right foot.
He suffered some sort of toe injury.
“Deion Belue hurt his toes,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. “I don’t know how hurt his toe is. So he’s got turf toe. He couldn’t continue to play.”
Right guard Anthony Steen and wide receiver Kevin Norwood also were banged up Saturday. Steen wasn’t on the field for the Tide’s decisive touchdown drive. He was replaced by sixth offensive lineman Kellen Williams.
Turnovers: The biggest difference in this year's game was the turnover ratio. Last season, Texas A&M forced three turnovers and committed none. On Saturday, Alabama forced two turnovers and committed one, a T.J. Yeldon fumble inside the 5-yard line.
“The fumble was huge going in on the score for them to make a big play and to get back in the game,” Saban said.
The Tide’s defense forced Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel to throw two interceptions. Cornerback Cyrus Jones, a converted wide receiver, picked off a Manziel pass in the end zone to stop a scoring drive. Saban called it a game-changing moment.
Safety Vinnie Sunseri intercepted a Manziel pass and returned it 73 yards for a touchdown. He also had an interception return for a touchdown against Virginia Tech.
On the play, Sunseri juked Aggies players and put an impressive move on Manziel before breaking tackles for the score. Sunseri said “playing kick return and punt return in high school” gave him the skills to avoid defenders.
Drake fares better: After not having a role in the season opener against Virginia Tech, Kenyan Drake, of Hillgrove High, made his way back into the good graces of coaches and teammates.
The sophomore running back was the Tide’s third leading rusher last season. Against the Aggies, Drake was the Tide’s second leading rusher behind Yeldon, the starter.
Drake rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown on seven carries and averaged 7.1 yards per carry.
Yeldon flagged for display: When Yeldon scored his touchdown, he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Yeldon did a gesture with his hands that earned him the flag.
Saban didn’t take kindly to the penalty and was visibly angry on the sideline. He got after Yeldon pretty good when he returned to the bench.
“That’s not us. That’s not our program. That’s not what we do. We’ve never ever tolerated, and we’ve never ever had it. I don’t think there’s any place for it in college football. I can’t control what other people do, but I can control what our guys do.”
Clinton-Dix penalty: In the second quarter, safety HaHa Clinton-Dix was flagged for targeting Texas A&M wide receiver Derel Walker.
Initially, Clinton-Dix was ejected for targeting the defenseless player, but after further review, the ejection did not stand.
By rule, the penalty stood.
“I thought the guy was playing the ball; he put his hands out,” Saban said. “The guy was unprotected. If he hit him in the head, it’s a penalty. If he was playing the ball, it wasn’t targeting. So he shouldn’t have gotten ejected. I think it was handled the right way.”
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