Texas Longhorns Week 2 Opponent Preview: No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide

The Longhorns will welcome the nation's No. 1 team to the 40 Acres on Saturday

Matt Galatzan | Sep 5, 2022

Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

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Texas Longhorns

Coming off of a season-opening 52-10 win over the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks, the Texas Longhorns will face arguably their toughest test of the entire regular season on Saturday when Nick Saban and the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide comes to Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

It will be the first time the Longhorns and Crimson Tide have faced off since the 2009-10 season, when they met in the BCS National Title Game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California.

Following an early injury to Longhorns star quarterback Colt McCoy, the Tide won that game 37-21.

Over a decade later, the two programs have gone in different directions, with the Tide consistently competing for conference and national titles and the Longhorns struggling to return to their former glory.

But with Steve Sarkisian now at the helm, backed by a host of talent of new talent on both his roster and coaching staff, plus incredible momentum on the recruiting trail, things are starting to trend in the right direction for the Horns.

Will it be enough to challenge the No. 1 Tide? Stick with LonghornsCountry.com as we preview all aspects of the Longhorns matchup with the Tide on Saturday.

Alabama Crimson Tide

2022 Record: 1-0

Head coach: Nick Saban

Saban is 179-25 in 15 seasons as the Tide head Coach

Offensive Set: Spread

Defensive Set: 4-2-5

Returning starters on Offense: 7

The Crimson Tide offense was as explosive as ever, averaging 39.87 points per game.

Projected starters on Offense:

QB Bryce Young

RB Jahmyr Gibbs

WR (Z) Ja'Corey Brooks

WR (X) Jermaine Burton

WR (Y) Jojo Earle

TE Cameron Latu

LT Tyler Steen

LG Javion Cohen

C Seth McLaughlin

RG Emil Ekiyor

RT JC Latham

Returning starters on Defense: 10

Alabama returns 10 starters from a defense that will continue to dominate college football.

Projected starters on Defense:

CB - Kool-Aid McKinstry

CB - Khyree Jackson

S - Brian Branch

S - DeMarcco Hellams

S - Jordan Battle

ILB - Henry To’oTo’o)

OLB - Will Anderson

OLB - Dallas Turner

DL - Byron Young

DL - DJ Dale

DL- Justin Eboigbe

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Published Sep 5, 2022

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.