Texas game will be 'barometer' for Alabama's 2023 team, Saban says

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama will host Texas for a top-15 matchup at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 9. It will be the 11th overall meeting between the pair of college football blue-bloods and just the second-ever matchup in Tuscaloosa, making for one of the most anticipated home games for the Crimson Tide during Nick Saban’s 17-tenure as head coach.

Saban spoke highly of the 11th-ranked Longhorns on Monday to kick off the second game week of the 2023 season and said this game will allow Alabama to learn what kind of team it is.

“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 is can you stay focused on what you need to do and not get affected by a lot of the external factors.”

There will be a lot of hype surrounding this game with Texas making its first trip to Tuscaloosa since 1902. It is the second half of a home-and-home series between the Tide and Longhorns, a year after Alabama escaped Austin, Texas, with a 20-19 victory. Texas returns 16 starters from last season’s team, including a whopping 10 on the offensive side of the football.

The Crimson Tide, on the other hand, welcomed back 11 starters from its 2022 squad but had to replace several key contributors from last year’s group. It won its season opener against Middle Tennessee in convincing fashion, a 56-7 blowout in Bryant-Denny, with Jalen Milroe playing well as the starting quarterback, but UA still has to prove it against better competition.

Saban was complimentary of the Longhorn offense Monday, including former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, who is in Year 3 at Texas, and quarterback Quinn Ewers, who was unable to finish the 2022 matchup after sustaining a shoulder injury in the contest.

“I think everybody knows Sark 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. (Xavier) Worthy‘s an outstanding receiver. They’ve got good running backs. They’ve got a really good tight end. They’re very good on defense.

“They play really good up front. They’re physical. They played extremely well in the first game. And they were excellent on special teams. So this is a really good team all the way around, and it’s going to be an opportunity for our team to sort of, you know, where are we as a team? Where are you as a player?”

There will be a lot of eyeballs on the Week 2 battle between Alabama and Texas, especially with ESPN’s College GameDay and SEC Nation as well as the Barstool College Football Show set to be on campus. While players like Milroe and Terrion Arnold, who were made available Monday for interviews, are excited, they are all focused on the game plan and improving.

“This is one of the reasons you come play college football, for moments like this,” said Milroe, who is set to make his third start Saturday. “We know we have a tough matchup this week. We’re excited, but No. 1, we’re gonna focus on today, try to improve and clean up the little details that we need to improve on. But we’re excited. We’re ready to approach every day, try to get better. I know the offensive staff has a great game plan ahead of us.”

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