Alabama’s defense got after Texas A&M’s quarterbacks on Saturday afternoon, sacking them seven times, but the Crimson Tide also allowed 393 total yards, the second-most over the last two seasons, in a 45-23 win.

“They had a good plan against us and they did a good job executing it,” coach Nick Saban said. “They’re one of the best offensive teams in the country and [Texas A&M coach] Jimbo [Fisher] does a really good job of using his personnel.”

Saban told CBS at halftime that the defense was struggling with Texas A&M’s use of “regular people,” meaning alignments with two wide receivers, one running back and two tight ends.

“You don’t want to be in nickel playing regular people because you can’t play the run,” junior cornerback Trevon Diggs, who made six solo tackles during the game, said.

Alabama plays nickel defense (five defensive backs) on the majority of its snaps, but the Aggies’ personnel forced the Crimson Tide into a base defense, which opens up the passing game because there’s one fewer defensive back.

However, Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond was more productive on the ground than through the air, using his legs to escape muddled pockets and to extend plays when he couldn’t find an open receiver. Mond recorded 54- and 34-yard scampers in the first half and finished with 98 yards rushing.

The 54-yarder was part of a 99-yard drive, the longest Alabama has allowed under Saban.

“It was just [misreading] and getting out of our lanes,” redshirt junior linebacker Anfernee Jennings said of Mond’s scrambles. “And him being a good quarterback, he sees those holes and he takes them.”

Alabama held the Texas A&M passing game, which had averaged 311 yards per game, to below 200, and Mond completed less than half of his passes. After entering the game with zero interceptions on 89 passes, the sophomore threw two against the Crimson Tide.

The first pick was by junior linebacker Mack Wilson, whose four interceptions led the team a year ago.

The second was by true freshman corner Patrick Surtain II, who was making his first career start. Mond threw 40 yards downfield into one-on-one coverage, but Surtain snagged the overthrown ball and returned it 20 yards the other way.

“We liked [Surtain] because he’s big and they have some big receivers,” Saban said. “He made some mental errors at the end of the game that we need to correct and he’ll learn from… He’s a bright guy, he’s very athletic, he’s got good ball skills, he plays with toughness.”

Texas A&M’s top four pass-catchers all stand at least 6-foot-2, and three of them weigh 210 pounds or more. The heaviest of the four is 250-pound tight end Jace Sternberger, who was the Aggies’ leading receiver with 59 yards on three receptions. He scored a 15-yard touchdown after no Alabama defender covered him and also added catches of 20 and 24 yards.

The Aggies’ top three wide receivers totaled nine catches for 94 yards.

Senior defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs was responsible for three of the team’s seven sacks after totaling 3.5 in his first 16 games with the Crimson Tide. He also set a new career-high with seven total tackles, tied for second on the team with sophomore safety Xavier McKinney.

After moving to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in SEC play, Saban said the team will rest on Monday to rejuvenate and examine the film.

“We’ll try to get some guys healthy and get some people back where we can go for the next four games,” Saban said. “I think [the rest] does the players a lot of good when it comes to recovery and healing up, so that’ll be the plan for us this week.”