Alabama vs Texas Prediction, Game Preview

Alabama vs Texas game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 2 game on Saturday, September 10

Alabama vs Texas prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 2, Saturday, September 10


Alabama vs Texas How To Watch

Date: Saturday, September 10
Game Time: 12:00 ET
Venue: Darrell K Royal/Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX
How To Watch: FOX
Record: Alabama (1-0), Texas (1-0)
Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
CFN Week 2 Expert Picks | Week 2 Schedule
NFL Expert Predictions | NFL Predictions
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Alabama vs Texas Game Preview

Why Alabama Will Win

New year, new players, new assistants, new chemistry, new lots of things, but Utah State won the Mountain West championship last year.

It came up with 11 wins, finishing off with a fantastic performance in a Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl win over Oregon State.

A slew of the key parts were back, it might have a shot at another conference title, and Alabama rolled right on over the Aggie speedbump for a 55-0 win, and that’s only because it didn’t want to hang 80.

The Tide didn’t score in the fourth quarter.

This is a fully-focused machine of a team that lost a slew of star parts, and yet still ran for 278 yards last week and threw for 281.

The offensive line has been worked on and tweaked to be better in pass protection, Bryce Young is going to spread it around more, and the defense is coming into the season looking like it took the national championship loss personally.

Texas might have the talent, but does it have the defense that can hold up against what’s coming? We’re not all that far removed from the Longhorns losing to Kansas.

However …

CFN Expert Picks, Week 2

Why Texas Will Win

This really is a different Longhorn team in a lot of ways.

Steve Sarkisian and the coaching staff have settled in, there’s a healthy Bijan Robinson in the backfield, Quinn Ewers – at least prospect-wise – is as promising as any quarterback in the country, and you’re not crazy to hype Xavier Worthy among the best wide receivers in college football.

The skill parts are there. There will be explosions from this attack to go along with the improved play from the lines and – if all goes well – a defense that’s going to be far more aggressive.

The Longhorns don’t have to be a brick wall on D, and they don’t have to pitch a shutout. They just have to get off the field once in a while.

And that goes to one of the key factors here – there’s almost no pressure.

Oh sure, everyone is waiting for Texas to be “back” to its national title-level self, and there’s no excuse for this program to be anything but great, and Sarkisian needs a gigantic win to get everything rolling, but Alabama is No. 1. It’s supposed to roll in, win by double-digits, and go home.

This will be a momentum game. Texas has the guys to at least hang with Bama at home, but it needs a good start and needs to believe it really can do this. It’s going to hit a few big scoring plays to get everyone hyped, and …

Week 2 Schedule, Predictions, Game Preview

What’s Going To Happen

You think Alabama is going to flinch for an instant when Texas connects on a 78-yard touchdown pass?

Yes, Texas will have its moments that will meltdown social media and make Gus Johnson take his game up a few octaves, but Bama will keep on coming. Texas will connect on a few big plays. Alabama will connect on all the little ones, and for a full 60 minutes.

It’ll keep Robinson bottled up, the running game will take over in the third quarter, and Bryce Young will come up with an ultra-efficient, workmanlike performance with two excellent scoring marches in the second half to end any dreams of this being when Texas becomes Texas again.

CFN Week 2 Predictions

Alabama vs Texas Prediction, Line

Alabama 41, Texas 20
Line: Alabama -20, o/u: 61.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
Alabama vs Texas Must See Rating (out of 5): 5

[protected-iframe id=”361699434b6d70baf15f631ed2408ac1-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js” ]

Predictions of Every Game
Bowl Projections | Rankings
Schedules, Scores For All 131 Teams

Texas enters Alabama game with nothing to lose, everything to gain

Teams that have nothing to lose can be unpredictable.

Texas will have one psychological edge on its side Saturday. The Longhorns have less than their opponent has to lose.

Steve Sarkisian’s squad entered the 2022 season unranked and unheralded after losing seven games last year. Alabama enters Saturday’s matchup as the national title favorite, head-and-shoulders above the competition.

With their preseason accolades come national championship expectations. The Crimson Tide will receive the benefit of the doubt should they only lose one game, but will face much stiffer competition than Texas to finish the season.

The stated goal for Texas is to play for a Big 12 Championship this year. For that reason, and the fact that they are far away from national title contention, the Longhorns can play a focused but confident game.

Sports psychologists will tell you that between stress and lethargy there is an optimal level of energy in the middle where players perform their best.

The challenge of playing Alabama will no doubt bring focused mental and physical energy. The fact that the game has no bearing on their goals can keep the Longhorns grounded.

Texas has a chance to use this psychological advantage. Saturday will present the opportunity to capitalize.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz52bnpekkafqb player_id=none image=https://longhornswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinions.