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)
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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 …
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 …
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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.
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
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