Tag: Texas vs Alabama preview

Predicting Week 2 including No. 3 Alabama vs No. 11 Texas

Rocky II: Texas gets a rematch with the champs of the last decade. We predict the game and more.

We are almost to what could be the biggest game of the college football regular season. The implications are endless. The No. 11 Texas Longhorns travel to Tuscaloosa to face the top team of the last decade and a half, the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide.

Texas limps into the game after a 37-10 win over the Rice Owls. And no, 37 points is not a satisfactory performance against a team like Rice.

The Longhorns entered the initial matchup against Alabama in the Nick Saban era in similar fashion. Prior to a national title clash between the two teams, Texas snuck past the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 2009 Big 12 championship game. Texas won the game 13-12 on a walk off field goal.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and company enter this game with as much doubt at that Longhorns squad if not more. Albeit, while it was a dynasty ending game for Texas that season, this year’s match could start a reversal of fortunes for the two teams.

Let’s predict the top games of Week 2.

Matchups: Looking at how Texas stacks up with Alabama

There are individual matchups in which Texas has the upper hand on Saturday.

Football is all about matchups. It’s why there is no transitive property in football. You beat teams of comparable talent because you match up well with them.

Like any other football game, Texas and Alabama will be determined by matchups. There are several in which both teams have to feel good about heading into Saturday.

The Alabama defensive front is not going to take a back seat to anybody. They are ferocious with the ability to amplify their intensity.

Across the field to the other sideline, the Texas wide receiver room is a near impossible cover. Poor pass protection and errant throws could thwart their efforts.

Let’s look at who has the edge in several positional and individual matchups in the game.

Texas HC Steve Sarkisian discusses offensive line errors

Texas’ offensive line errors are “fixable.” Sarkisian looks to find which linemen fix the errors best.

The Texas Longhorns offensive line made several errors to open the season. According to head coach Steve Sarkisian, those errors are fixable.

Sarkisian said the following of how Texas is addressing those issues.

“We made some errors up front that were uncharacteristic for us. (They are) very fixable things. Which, that’s what we were working on here this morning, of getting those things tightened up. … That’s the good thing, when you go watch it, that the things that occurred are fixable.”

That the errors are fixable by next week doesn’t negate how much work it will take to get back on track. The Texas offensive line faces a much more difficult task this week. It faces a monstrous defensive line whose theme for the 2023 season is “joyless murderball.” Texas has to match that intensity.

Help could be on the way for the Longhorns should they get right guard Cole Hutson back from injury. The 13-game starter as a freshman appears not to have been beat out by DJ Campbell judging by Campbell’s performance. Left guard Neto Umeozulu was also said to have performed well in the game.

Regardless of who plays, there are several mistakes to correct. Texas will look to correct them before Saturday.

Projecting what Texas must do to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa

We look at where Texas could have success against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Texas Longhorns (1-0) take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0) this week. While it’s unlikely to be a Top 10 matchup, it has the makings of a great game.

The Longhorns enter the game licking their wounds after an exceptionally poor performance on Saturday. It all starts with the offensive line in pass protection where the Rice Owls picked on first time starter DJ Campbell. It is unlikely Texas will put Campbell in that position again this week.

The offensive performance was ugly all around. Receivers ran into receivers, running backs missed blocking assignments and dropped touchdowns and Quinn Ewers continued to struggle to hit the downfield pass at quarterback.

Texas can win most games without connecting on the deep ball. We saw the 2018 squad win 10 games and beat Oklahoma and Georgia without it. That said, it might need to hit a downfield pass or two in this game.

Let’s look at what the team needs to accomplish to defeat the Tide in Tuscaloosa.

Beat ‘Bama: The theme of the offseason must not change for Texas

Texas can make fall camp focus simple: Beat Alabama.

It’s just over a month until football season. And with all due respect to the Rice Owls, we’re about 40 days until the Texas Longhorns’ most important game against Alabama. The Longhorns need to win it.

Texas faces the Alabama Crimson Tide not long from now. The game’s importance is not about long-term implications or about announcing that Texas is back. Even if Texas made the playoff this season it would still not necessarily be “back.” This game is about making a statement that the 2023 team is different.

It’s a winnable game. If Ewers plays four quarters last year, Texas probably wins. If Alabama doesn’t enjoy late game heroics from Bryce Young, the Longhorns probably win, too. Let’s not get into the Texas points officials took off the board last year. The team didn’t win, and the result can’t be altered. It can, and should, win the rematch.

Texas is the better football team. It has more offensive playmakers, a better offensive line and, at the present time, a better quarterback than Alabama. There is no Quinn Ewers, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Xavier Worthy, AD Mitchell or Kelvin Banks suiting up for the Tide. There certainly aren’t any players like Isaiah Neyor or Jordan Whittington manning the third and fourth receiver spots.

The star power isn’t there for the Tide, but the team should face better playing conditions. The advantage for Alabama is a home field environment that will not be for the faint of heart. It still isn’t a valid excuse for the Longhorns losing the game this season.

It isn’t as if the team lacks the motivation. Aside from the prestige of its opponent and the excitement of a prime time game, there are more personal sources of motivation for Texas

Last September, Alabama edge Dallas Turner buried Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers’ shoulder into the turf. Neither Ewers nor his offensive line got the chance to fully rebut that hit. They will get that opportunity on Sept. 9. The play should bring out each Texas player’s competitive fire.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has a huge game ahead, but it’s not for the future. This game is for the players on campus. A win could springboard the team to a special season. A loss squanders a monumental opportunity.

Texas shouldn’t only spend practice hours preparing for the Tide. It should spend its waking hours finding ways to beat Alabama. If it does, the team is set up to secure its biggest win since January of 2006.

On3 Roundtable discusses how Texas football can beat Alabama in 2023

Alabama and Texas insiders discuss who will win the Week 2 matchup between the teams.

The Texas Longhorns and Alabama Crimson Tide are set to meet in what could be the game of the year in 2023. Last season’s bout produced one of the more compelling performances of the year as the Longhorns nearly pulled off an upset victory without their starting quarterback.

On3 Sports’ J.D. PicKell met with Bama Online’s Tim Watts and Inside Texas’ Bobby Burton to discuss this year’s matchup. Both sides shed light on which team could have the upper hand in the game.

For Texas, Bobby Burton made it clear that the team can’t take anything for granted. The Longhorns’ chance of an upset bid begin with making good decisions and protecting the football. Burton said the following on the team’s slim margin for error.

“I think the most important stat line is going to be no turnovers. You can’t go into Tuscaloosa and turn the ball over early in the game and expect to mount any kind of comeback.”

Let’s break down a few of the takeaways from the discussion.

On3 Sports: Alabama starting QB vs. Texas might not be on their roster

Alabama might not start Milroe or Simpson against Texas this year.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban and his coaching staff do not appear satisfied with the quarterback room. Saban could be looking for an upgrade according to one college football analyst.

Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports wrote the following about the Crimson Tide quarterback battle.

It seems like Alabama could still have interest in adding another QB if a certain caliber of player hits the transfer portal market in the coming weeks.

That quote should give Texas fans pause after how strongly Maalik Murphy performed at quarterback in the spring game. Aside from that, it speaks to the level of uncertainty and urgency in Tuscaloosa after losing one of the school’s best ever quarterbacks in Bryce Young.

The urgency will certainly be there for the Crimson Tide’s heavyweight bout with the Longhorns in Week 2. The only question is, who will the Tide lean on to score points in new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ offense?

Last season, Texas felt uneasy about its quarterback room even into its fall camp position battle before righting the ship for Alabama. Nick Saban will hope to do the same in the upcoming months.