The Key to Stopping Johnny Manziel Was Staring Us In The Face This Entire Time

When Nick Saban went to shake the hand of Kevin Sumlin, he told him that he took 10 years away from his life. He's not alone.

All of this time staying up late, excessive study of film, to try and crack the code that is Johnny Football.

We all learned in Alabama's 49-42 victory over Texas A&M, that you can't stop him with defensive schemes. Although two miscalculations by Johnny Football did decide the game in retrospect, I don't think Hugh Freeze, Gus Malzahn, Les Miles, Dan Mullen, or Bret Bilemma would want to take that chance if they glance at the film from this game.

It's still hard to believe that Alabama, a school that prides itself when it comes to defense surrendered 42 points and 628 yards in one game.

What does that tell you. Your chances of defeating Texas A&M and Johnny Football increase when he isn't touching the football.

With the way Texas A&M's defensive line began to crumble, the longer Manziel doesn't have the football the better.

I thought Alabama did a reasonable job in the 2nd half bleeding the clock. Despite the TJ Yeldon fumble.

Nick Saban may have not cracked the code when it comes to Johnny Manziel, who was responsible for 568 of those 628 yards. However, he may have unlocked the strategy for future Aggie opponents.

Balanced run, Time of Possession, and leave as little time for Manziel so when he makes a mistake, it's much more crippling.

This whole time, along with Nick Saban, fans debated how they could stop Johnny Manziel from a repeat of that 2012 day in Tuscaloosa, but the key to defeating Texas A&M was so obvious this entire time.