Highly-Anticipated Matchup with Texas Will Be a 'Barometer' for Alabama Football

Saban said this weekend's game against the Longhorns will be a good test of where the Crimson Tide is at this point in the season.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After a 49-point win over Middle Tennessee in Week 1, the Alabama Crimson Tide will play its first impactful game of the season in a high-profile collision against the 11th-ranked Texas Longhorns.

A season ago, the Crimson Tide escaped Austin — defeating the Longhorns 20-19 on a game-winning field goal from Will Reichard.

While No. 4 Alabama looked the part against the Blue Raiders on Saturday night, head coach Nick Saban believes this weekend's game against Texas will give the team and coaching staff a better representation of where they're at in the larger sphere of college football.

"You're going to play against a really good player and that usually says, where am I as a player? This is going to be a good barometer for us to find out where are we as a team," Saban said. "We're going to focus on doing a great job of trying to get our guys to prepare to play a great game and do a good job in terms of execution."

"I know it will be an exciting game from a fan's perspective and we love that atmosphere and environment that they create. But I think one of the things that's really important for players — can you stay focused on what you need to do and not get affected by a lot of the external factors."

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was 9-for-12 with 134 yards against Alabama in last year's game before suffering an injury late in the first quarter that held him out for the remainder of the game.

The Longhorns are led by head coach Steve Sarkisian, who was the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator from 2019-2020. He also served as an analyst under Saban during the 2016 season.

"Texas, I think everybody knows [Sarkisian] is a really good coach," Saban said. "They've got a really good team. They've got a veteran team returning, with 10 starters on offense, six on defense. Really good skill players on offense. Really good quarterback who can throw the ball effectively. They make a lot of explosive plays."

Both ESPN's College GameDay and SEC Network's SEC Nation will be in Tuscaloosa for one of the biggest matchups of the college football season. The cheapest seats at Bryant-Denny Stadium are currently selling for nearly $200 per ticket.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

See Also:

Jalen Milroe, Terrion Arnold Ready to 'Let All Naysayers Know'

Film Room: Breaking Down Jalen Milroe’s Start Against Middle Tennessee

Nick Saban Provides Injury Updates for Alabama Players Ahead of Texas