There are several intriguing nonconference games on the 2023 college football schedule.
Ohio State at Notre Dame, Florida State vs. LSU and Notre Dame at Clemson should all be exciting matchups, but On3 recently ranked the Texas at Alabama game on Sept. 9th as the best nonconference game on the schedule for the upcoming season.
The last meeting between the two programs certainly lived up to the hype, both on and off the field. The Crimson Tide escaped Austin with a 20-19 win in the final minute in front of a record-breaking crowd.
Texas will get their shot to face Alabama once again in 2023, this time in Tuscaloosa. Here’s why Mike Huguenin believes this is the best nonconference game of the year.
This will be the 11th meeting between these schools – and Texas’ first trip to Tuscaloosa since 1902. The Tide won in Austin last season, and that was the first regular-season meeting between the teams since 1922. Texas opens with Rice and Alabama with Middle Tennessee, so this will be the first test for each. Quarterback looms large for both. With Bryce Young gone, who starts for the Tide? And while Quinn Ewers returns for the Longhorns, touted freshman Arch Manning is on campus and that means things already are interesting. Both teams have to replace some key pieces on defense, and neither first-game opponent figures to truly be able to test the new starters. That adds an extra layer to this one between teams that will be in the same conference next season. – Mike Huguenin
The anticipated Sept. 9th matchup will no doubt be Texas’ biggest game of the season. The last meeting served as a measuring stick for the Longhorns and somewhat of a coming-out party. Now Sarkisian’s squad will seek revenge and attempt to prove they can close out a game against one of the most talented teams in the country.
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