Game time: September 10th at 12:00 PM ET
TV Schedule: ABC
Location: DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium
The Alabama Crimson Tide take on the Texas Longhorns in a matchup between two future SEC Football opponents. The Tide will look to start the season 2-0 after handily beating Utah State last week. The Tide will be led by Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. Can Bijan Robinson and Quinn Ewers lead the Longhorns to an upset victory?
Texas goes into this game ranked at No. 22 in the Coaches Poll. Defending SEC Football champion Alabama goes into this game ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll.
As already stated, Alabama goes into this game after handily beating Utah State last week. That game was basically a blowout from the beginning. Young threw for 195 yards and 5 touchdowns. Additionally, he had 100 yards rushing the ball on 5 QB rushes. Young is a clear-cut Heisman candidate this year. One of the reasons Alabama is one of the best teams in the country going into this year is the fact that they have two Heisman candidates.
Will Anderson Jr is the other Heisman candidate for the Tide. Anderson did not have a spectacular game in the opener but he was solid. Anderson Jr had 3 tackles, which included a monster hit during the first quarter. It will be interesting to see how Anderson plays against Texas’ offensive line and Heisman candidate running back Bijan Robinson.
I think the battle between Texas’ offense and Alabama’s defense will be the most interesting part of this game. Cole Hutson and Kelvin Banks (both freshmen) start at left guard and right tackle respectfully. Both of these players are highly touted recruits coming into this season with Huston, a four-star, and Banks, a five-star.
Considering last week’s game against UL-Monroe was really a tune-up game for Texas, this will be the first real test for these new offensive linemen starting at crucial parts on the offensive line. They certainly will have their hands full with Will Anderson, Jaylen Moody, Byron Young, DJ Dale, and company. If Texas wants their stars in Bijan Robinson and Quinn Ewers to shine in this game, the offensive lineman will have to contain this Alabama pass rush.
Bijan Robinson goes into this game as a Heisman candidate. This is his third year with the Longhorns. The junior went off last year having 1,127 yards on 195 carries. He averaged 5.8 yards per rush. In the tune-up game against UL-Monroe, Robinson rushed for 71 yards on 10 carries.
While that is not super impressive, you have to look at the yards per carry to notice that Robinson could have dominated UL-Monroe, if it wasn’t a tune-up game. Robison averaged 7 yards per carry. That is downright insane. Bijan Robinson versus Alabama’s middle linebackers will be a matchup to watch.
Quinn Ewers begins his Texas career at an interesting point in his college career. He transferred from Ohio State after losing the starting QB job to C.J Stroud. While that is not that strange, he did take home 1.4 million dollars in NIL money while he was committed at Ohio State. While there is nothing wrong with that, it is just interesting he took home so much NIL money before never playing a single snap at Ohio State.
Additionally, during the game against UL-Monroe, Ewers’ car got towed. His college career certainly had some interesting events, to say the least. In the tune-up game against UL-Monroe, Ewers threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Again his play will come down to if his offensive line can contain Bama’s defense.
Prediction
Alabama: 24 Texas:17
I have Alabama winning here. While I think Texas’ offense will be able to do somewhat well because of their offensive stars, I do not think they are good enough to match Alabama’s offense. Although Texas’ offense is very good, Alabama has a much easier defense to go against than Texas. While I predict a close result, I would not be surprised if this game was a blowout by Alabama. Alabama is a top-five team in the country. While Texas is good, as of right now, they are not a top-five team in the country.