The college football "game of the century" has finally arrived. The hyped re-match between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Texas A&M Aggies is taking place in College Station. The Aggies handed Alabama their only loss of the season in 2012 as Johnny Manziel put on a Heisman highlight tape. Nick Saban and the Tide are not stressing revenge, instead focused on simply playing well enough to win.
Alabama is currently ranked No. 1 after winning their opener against Virginia Tech. The Aggies are No. 6 after facing two FCS opponents. The Tide are trying to downplay the hype surrounding Manziel and the game. They know the secret to winning comes down the quarterback and containing him.
Last season, Manziel threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns against the Tide, while also running for 92 more yards. The game ended 29-24 in favor of A&M, but Alabama did go on to win the national championship.
Saban is promising that trash talking will not be part of the Crimson Tide's game plan. Much has been made of the taunting penalty Manziel received in the season opener, while he was also seen taking a few jabs at opponents in last week's game. The quarterback has only briefly spoken to media after being advised not to talk after a summer of off-the-field issues.
Texas A&M is also downplaying the hype of the game. Head coach Kevin Sumlin is insisting that he and the team are treating it like Week 3 of the season and not paying attention as to who the opponent is.
Saban has a strong streak in re-matches. The latest was the win against the LSU Tigers in 2012 after beating the team in the national championship just a season ago. Saban is 15-2 in revenge games, a stat the Tide are hoping is in their favor on Saturday.