To play or not to play? Does it matter? 

The biggest question among many fans of the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide is if quarterback Bryce Young will suit up on Saturday night against the Texas A&M Aggies. 

Last week in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Young went down in the second quarter of the Crimson Tide’s 49-26 win over the Razorbacks — and since then has been nursing a sprained shoulder. 

Backup quarterback Jalen Milroe came up big late in last week’s win. 

Head coach Nick Saban insists it’s not a long-term injury. But with No. 8 Tennessee around the corner, is it worth risking the health of Young against the Aggies? 

“There’s no real damage in his shoulder, so this is not a long-term thing,” Saban said. “But he still has some soreness. We’ll have to make a game-time decision in pregame to see if he can throw the ball well enough to do his job.” 

After all, Texas A&M ranks 97th in the country in rush defense, allowing over 170 yards on the ground per game. The Aggies also have struggled mightily on offense. It seems that Alabama could win the game with just a few scores. The Crimson Tide is favored by 24 points. 

Even though the matchup has lost some of its intrigue, there will still be plenty of motivation for the Crimson Tide on Saturday night. Texas A&M defeated Alabama 41-38 in College Station a season ago — a loss Saban and the Crimson Tide players remember vividly. 

“It left a really bad taste in my mouth, other guys on the roster’s mouth,” safety DeMarcco Hellams said. “It’s something we definitely remember from last year, and it’s definitely helped our preparation for those guys this year.” 

“As always, the media sort of makes things out to be some kind of way, and I’ve been asked various questions about, ‘This was supposed to be the big game, and it’s not as big a game now.’ It is a big game, alright,” Saban said. “This is a really big game for us.” 

Not only is it a big game for his team, but for Saban himself as well. Aggies’ head coach Jimbo Fisher was the first former assistant to defeat Saban. And just this offseason, Texas A&M’s head man had some choice words for his former boss. 

“Some people think they’re God,” Fisher said in May. “Go dig into how God [Saban] did his deal. You may find out a lot of things you don’t want to know. We build him up to be the czar of football. Go dig into his past, or anybody that’s ever coached with him. You can find out anything you want to find out. What he does and how he does it — it’s despicable.” 

Since then, Fisher and Saban have apparently settled their differences. 

Linebacker Will Anderson Jr. also took notice of Fisher’s comments about his head coach. 

“We note it,” Anderson said at SEC Media Days in July. “We don’t have to speak on it much. When the game gets on, we’ll address it then.” 

Earlier this week, Anderson was much quieter on the topic. 

“I come here to play football,” Anderson said. “I don’t come here to write tweets. I don’t come here to go back and forth on things. People may try to make it a big deal, but at the end of the day, I have scholarship to play football.” 

After losses to Appalachian State University and Mississippi State University, the Aggies have fallen out of the top-25 — after starting the season at No. 6. 

Haynes King began the season as Texas A&M’s starting quarterback. He was benched for LSU transfer Max Johnson — who is now out indefinitely with a broken hand. So, it’s back to King on Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Ainias Smith, potentially the Aggies’ top playmaker, is out for the season. 

Texas A&M is certainly limping into its matchup with the top team in the country. But the same could be said of last year. In a eerily familiar situation, the Aggies lost to Mississippi State before defeating the Crimson Tide. They were led by Zach Calzada, a backup quarterback at the time. 

“They’re going to play really well against us, and we got to be ready to play our best as a team to be able to take advantage of it,” Saban said. “Texas A&M has a really, really good team. These guys have a lot of good players. Jimbo does a really good job of coaching them.” 

In due time, we will see if No. 9 will suit up for Alabama. Regardless, it’s a big opportunity for revenge on a lot of fronts for the Crimson Tide. 

Kickoff is set for Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. CT on CBS.

Questions or comments? Email Austin Hannon (Sports Editor) at [email protected]