"Johnny Football" became a legend on Nov. 10, 2012.
That's when Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel led a stunning 29-24 upset against No. 1 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Manziel went from intriguing redshirt freshman to Heisman Trophy front-runner, and he quickly morphed into college football's most-polarizing celebrity.
All that happened after one afternoon against Alabama, in which Manziel put on a dizzying display of highlight-reel plays. That game is sure to be revisited on Saturday when No. 1 Alabama hosts Texas A&M. The Aggies beat the Crimson Tide 41-38 last season, but Texas A&M has not won at Bryant-Denny Stadium since that Manziel-led upset.
That upset will be revisited in detail in the "Untold: Johnny Football" documentary, which was released on Netflix on Tuesday. Manziel's take on the game will go viral.
"When you have that what the f--- does it really matter attitude, you play better," Manziel said.
A look back at that upset and the impact it left on college football:
Crimson Tide were heavy favorites
No. 1 Alabama was 9-0, the defending national champions under coach Nick Saban and had won 13 consecutive games coming into the matchup against No. 15 Texas A&M, which was in its first year in the SEC under coach Kevin Sumlin. The Aggies were 7-2 with losses to Florida and LSU. Manziel had emerged as a Heisman contender, but Alabama was a 14-point favorite in the game.
First-quarter statement
Manziel, with the help of an excellent game plan from first-year offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, used a quick passing attack and strong running game to stun the Crimson Tide and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart in the first quarter. Texas A&M scored TDs on its first three drives to build a 20-0 lead. On those drives, Manzeil was 10 of 11 passing for 82 yards and had five rushing attempts for 72 yards. In its nine previous games, Alabama had not given up more than 17 points.
Manziel's Heisman moment
Manziel essentially won the Heisman Trophy on third-and-goal with 8:11 remaining in the first quarter. Manziel ran toward the line of scrimmage, and the ball popped loose when he slammed into tackle Jake Matthews' back. Manziel caught the ball in midair, spun out of the pocket and threw a TD pass to Ryan Swope. The corresponding reactions from Kingsbury and Smart say it all.
Alabama bounced back
Alabama rallied to cut the lead to 20-17 in the fourth quarter before Manziel hit Malcome Kennedy for a 24-yard TD. The Aggies won 29-24, and Manziel finished with 24 of 31 for 253 passing yards with 92 rushing yards.
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The Crimson Tide dropped to No. 4 in the AP Poll, but they rose back to No. 2 before the BCS championship game. Alabama beat No. 1 Notre Dame 42-14 to claim a second straight national championship.
'Johnny Football' took off
Manziel's celebrity soared after the Alabama upset. He finished the season with an incredible stat line that included 3,706 passing yards, 26 TDs and nine interceptions with 1,410 rushing yards and 21 TDs. Manziel won the Heisman Trophy ahead of Notre Dame's Manti Te'o and Kansas State's Collin Klein.
Manziel's off-the-field exploits also took off. He emerged a college football celebrity, and his party image would follow him all the way to the 2014 NFL Draft and beyond.
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Manziel was suspended for one half of the 2013 season opener against Rice after reports he signed autographs for money the following offseason. This was before student-athletes were able to benefit from Name, Image and Likeness. Still, there would be a much-anticipated rematch with Alabama in 2013.
The Rematch
No. 1 Alabama and No. 6 Texas A&M met on Sept. 14, 2013, in one of the most-anticipated rematches of the BCS era. Manziel did not disappoint. He finished with 464 passing yards, five TDs and two interceptions with 98 rushing yards – a total of 562 yards.
Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron answered with 334 passing yards, four TDs and no interceptions in a 49-42 victory. McCarron finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Florida State's Jameis Winston. Manziel finished fifth.
In two seasons, Manziel finished with 7,820 passing yards, 63 TDs and 22 interceptions. He added 2,169 rushing yards and 30 TDs.
Ten years later …
Manziel was selected with the No. 22 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, but his NFL career never took off. He played just two seasons for Cleveland. He was suspended four games for violating the league's substance abuse policy in 2016. He also bounced around the CFL and Alliance of American Football for a few seasons afterward.
Sumlin stayed at Texas A&M until 2017 and had a three-year stint at Arizona. He is now the coach of the Houston Gamblers in the USFL. Kingsbury coached at Texas Tech and is now the coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Smart led Georgia to the national championship in 2021.
Saban, of course, is still at Alabama, and that loss to Texas A&M hasn't been forgotten. The Crimson Tide have won the last four meetings against the Aggies at Bryant-Denny Stadium by an average of 32.8 points per game.
It's safe to say he hasn't forgotten about what Johnny Football did that day.
