Keelon Russell's two fourth-quarter TD passes carry No. 13 Alabama past Texas A&M 31-20

Keelon Russell threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns, two of them in the fourth quarter, and No. 13 Alabama beat Texas A&M 31-20 on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium to end a two-game losing streak.

Texas A&M led 20-17 to start the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-1, Marcel Reed couldn't handle the snap, and Alabama took over near midfield. Three plays later Russell hit Rico Scott for 38 yards to the Texas A&M 5, then found tight end Marshall Pritchett for a 5-yard touchdown with 14:55 left. After a three-and-out, Russell threw an 8-yard touchdown to Kaleb Edwards, and that was the margin.

Alabama's defense set the tone early. Dijon Lee Jr. intercepted Reed on the first series and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown, and Chuck McDonald III picked him off on the next one. According to the Associated Press, Reed threw interceptions on each of the Aggies' first two possessions.

Reed recovered for a while. He threw a 9-yard touchdown to Mario Craver and ran 4 yards for another score that put Texas A&M up 14-10. Russell's 3-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Hill gave Alabama the lead back, but David Olano kicked field goals from 32 and 25 yards to put the Aggies ahead 20-17 in the third quarter.

Russell completed 19 of 30 passes with an interception by Dezz Ricks. Scott caught six passes for 156 yards with Ryan Coleman-Williams out for a second straight game with a knee injury, per the AP. Lotzeir Brooks added three catches for 73 yards. Alabama ran for only 68 yards, and Conor Talty made 1 of 3 field goals.

Reed went 14 of 21 for 163 yards and ran 17 times for 23 yards. Craver caught six passes for 45 yards. The Aggies finished with 278 yards and three turnovers. Caleb Woodson led Alabama with 10 tackles.

The Tide played short in the secondary. The AP reported that Alabama announced before kickoff that cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. was suspended for violating team rules, and safety Red Morgan was ejected for targeting in the second quarter. Top cornerback Zabien Brown was already out with a leg injury.

Alabama, which had lost to Georgia and Tennessee, is 6-2 and 4-2 in the SEC and avoided its first three-game skid since 2007. Texas A&M is 4-4. Both teams are off next week. Alabama plays at No. 18 LSU on Nov. 7, and the Aggies visit South Carolina.