The time has come. Texas A&M has successfully hurdled the 5-0 barrier and now the 6-0 Aggies, ranked No. 6 in the country, play their biggest game of the year and perhaps the biggest game in the Kevin Sumlin era.

Texas A&M meets No. 1 Alabama at 3:30 p.m. ET at Bryant-Denny Stadium with CBS carrying the broadcast to a national television audience. It’ll be a battle of unbeatens; a game which will decide the SEC frontrunner heading into the homestretch. The winner holds the inside track to the SEC Championship Game and an opportunity to play in the College Football Playoff.

Here are five thoughts heading into the big game:

1. Not many are giving the Aggies a chance – This is despite their undefeated record and their impressive season to date which includes a No. 6 ranking. Even Las Vegas is shunning the Aggies. Alabama opened as a 17-point favorite early Sunday. That’s a lot of points for a top-10 matchup. But you really can’t blame them, not after the way the Tide rolled past Tennessee on Saturday. Alabama never allowed for Tennessee’s patented late-game heroics, a series of comebacks that included rallying from 21 points down to Texas A&M the previous week. The Vols took that game to overtime before the Aggies prevailed. Alabama had none of it on Saturday, rolling to a convincing 49-10 victory.

2. Can Trevor Knight make it two in a row? – The Aggies’ quarterback is undefeated against Alabama over his college career. In his only game against the Tide, Knight threw for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns, completing 32-of-44 passes for Oklahoma in the Sooners’ 45-31 romp over the Tide in the Sugar Bowl following the 2013 season. The drubbing matched Alabama’s worst defeat in a decade. It is said that elephants have long memories, red or otherwise. So Alabama will surely seek to make amends. Trouble is, it just might take that type of effort once again for the Aggies to pull off the victory and keep Knight undefeated vs. the Tide.

3. Is this the best Alabama team in the Nick Saban era? – If it is, that’s saying a lot. You don’t win four national championships in seven years with average teams. But this actually could very well be his best; at least that’s what some are saying, including AL.com writer Kevin Scarbinsky. This is a team that not only can score with regularity on offense, defense and special teams, but also still plays exceptional defense on top of it.

The Tide is playing at the highest level in all phases of the game as the most recent example, the 49-10 thumping of Tennessee on the road, clearly illustrates.

4. Can Aggies keep Alabama touchdowns limited to its offense? – This could be the key element to Saturday’s showdown. Keeping Alabama from scoring via its defense and special teams would be half the battle.

Seven of Alabama's 11 defensive starters have scored at least 1 non-offensive TD this season. That's unreal. — Alex Byington (@abyingtonTD) October 15, 2016

The Tide has recorded 11 non-offensive touchdowns this season. If that sounds like quite a lot, it is. For comparison, South Carolina’s offense has scored nine touchdowns this season. So simply taking care of the football while on offense, while tightening up on special teams, could make the difference in Saturday’s game. That sounds like an easy enough task for a team the caliber of Texas A&M, but even Tennessee was not immune. The Tide tallied two on Saturday with its offense on the sidelines. Ronnie Harrison returned an interception 58 yards for one score, and Eddie Jackson took a punt return 79 yards to the end zone for another. It will be imperative that Texas A&M guards against similar results this Saturday.

5. What are the other keys to an Aggies victory? – Well, with all the up-tempo spread offenses taking hold in the SEC, it still comes down to running the football and stopping the other team from running the football. Not surprisingly, Alabama leads the FBS in rushing defense, allowing an average of only 63.9 rushing yards per game. Texas A&M, in comparison, is seventh in the SEC, yielding an average of 159.3 per contest. Maintain control of the ball while opening up the passing game are the basics of winning football. Texas A&M leads the SEC in rushing offense, averaging 274.3 yards per game. Alabama is right behind it at second (265.7). So the team that can maintain its average will have the upper hand.