But there’s no time to grow into the role. Kelvin Banks was one of Sarkisian’s most critical recruits after the 5-7 finish in 2021 and the freshman left tackle hasn’t disappointed. “I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is this is going to be the game that is going to define our program. Texas is set to join the Southeastern Conference in 2025. It won’t be long before this game is a more regular matchup. “When you’re playing on the road, you gotta overcome their emotion, their intensity - the crowd - all kinds of challenges,” Saban said. Saban expects to play a Texas team that at least thinks it’s ready to take flight. Beat Alabama with a talented but young lineup like this one, and Texas could really take off. Texas has a freshman quarterback in Quinn Ewers, two freshmen starting on the offensive line, and a defense that ranked No. Texas hasn’t won even a Big 12 title in that stretch and has fired three head coaches since that game. That 2010 win over Texas was the first of Saban’s six national titles at Alabama. The Crimson Tide have last season’s Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Bryce Young, last season’s Bronco Nagurski Award winner in linebacker Will Anderson, and more than a decade of crushing opponents under coach Nick Saban. It’s easy to be in awe of Alabama, even at a big brand program like Texas. “Teams can sometimes be enamored with an opponent,” he said. “Ultimately, this is about us,” said Sarkisian, who was the offensive coordinator at Alabama when the Tide won the 2020 national championship. Beat the heavily favored Crimson Tide and Texas could take a huge step in what Longhorns fans hope is a rebuild back into a championship contender. Top-ranked Alabama (1-0) and Texas (1-0) meet for the first time since that January 2010 matchup on Saturday. Three words describe the early injury to standout quarterback Colt McCoy and the ripple effect it had through more than a decade of “What ifs…” within a Texas program that floundered while Alabama established perhaps the greatest dynasty in college football history. 1 AlabamaĪUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas coach Steve Sarkisian doesn’t recall watching the last time Alabama and Texas met on the field, and most of the Longhorns were too young to remember much of anything about that game.īut to a man, they pretty much all know this about the Crimson Tide’s 37-21 victory to win the 2009 season national championship: That’s the game where “Colt got hurt.”

Texas Game Preview: Texas has chance for big turnaround against No.

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