No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide is set to take on future SEC rivals the No. 11 Texas Longhorns in Bryant-Denny Stadium this Saturday. Last season’s game saw a narrow 20-19 victory for the top-ranked Crimson Tide. This game could help determine what the future of this rivalry could look like.
The Crimson White’s Deana Nichols sat down with Christina Huang, sports editor of The Daily Texan, to discuss the matchup.
Nichols: Last season’s game in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium was down to the wire. Being in Bryant-Denny, how do you think this matchup could be different?
Huang: “Obviously, the environment [for Texas] as the road team at Bryant-Denny is very different from what last week against Rice was. I think if Texas prepares itself to enter that environment as a road team, and if they focus on doing what they need to do and not letting the crowd noise get in their heads or anything like that, I think they would be okay. I think the biggest thing is, frankly, preparing themselves for that type of environment so that they can execute.”
Nichols: Quinn Ewers is returning as starting quarterback for Saturday, and it looks as if Jalen Milroe is the starting QB for the season. How can Texas use the fact that Milroe is still getting used to starting to their advantage?
Huang: “I think Sark [Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian] is really familiar with Jalen Milroe. I think just his personal experience recruiting Milroe, he knows the type of player, the type of quarterback that Milroe is. I don’t think that they’re discounting him just because this is arguably the biggest game that [Milroe] will start at this point in … his career. I don’t think they’re discounting him in any way. The same way that they prepared for Bryce Young last year, they know that they’re dealing with a really skilled quarterback, and they’re not going to take that lightly.”
Nichols: Piggybacking off that, Ewers last year was injured in the first quarter, causing Hudson Card to takeover. How is Ewers looking going into Saturday?
Huang: “Yeah, I think he obviously wishes that he would have been able to play out the whole game last year, but I don’t think he’s really looking at that and thinking about that. … It [last year] was just a time for him to really grow and really mature. I think as the season progressed, you started to see him make better decisions on the field. I felt towards the beginning of the season, maybe there were moments where he felt like a deer in the headlights, I guess. I think he’s more poised than he was this time last year. I think there were some moments where last year, Quinn probably wouldn’t have been able to handle. The first half didn’t go as well as Texas wanted it to, but they were still able to regroup and get it done in the second. I feel like that maturity of staying levelheaded and staying focused on what’s ahead of you seems to be present for him now.”
Nichols: Milroe is returning after being on fire in Game 1 of the season. What can Texas’ defense do to put a stop to Milroe?
Huang: “Defensively, one of the most important players to watch for will be Jaylan Ford, preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. I was actually just watching his highlight. But in last year’s game against Bama, he absolutely just trucked through the Alabama offensive line and went straight for Bryce Young and caused a loss of like 10 or 11 yards and sacked him. I think he is definitely someone to watch. And like I said, Texas is well aware that Milroe is a dual-threat quarterback. They know what he’s capable of. I think that as long as they stay focused on him, and they just have to be prepared for anything that he does.”
Nichols: Last year Alabama struggled with penalties throughout the season, and especially in last year’s game [against Texas]. What can Texas do to take advantage of that?
Huang: “I think there are definitely some frustrating moments for Texas where they were in that same situation, where maybe they felt like they were getting a lot of penalties that maybe they shouldn’t have gotten. I wonder if the penalties will be more of an issue for Texas this Saturday, because they are the away team. Also, they probably didn’t pull out all the stops against Rice last Saturday, so I could see a scenario where maybe the team gets frustrated and maybe that frustration leads to them not playing as they practiced or not executing the way that they want to. If Texas isn’t fully present and 100% there, Alabama can definitely take advantage of that.”
Nichols: What should fans look out for during Saturday’s matchup?
Huang: “I think the Alabama game will be a good litmus test for Texas, showing them where they are right now. And … if Bama is the type of team that they want to be, they have to see how they stack up. I know that everyone’s thinking about next year in the SEC and how Texas is going to fare, and that I think this will be one of the first looks we have at that since at this point, the Texas team is basically Steve Sarkisian’s roster. I think if Texas does really poorly and it ends up being a blowout, then that will raise some pretty big red flags for the future of the program. I would just say that whatever the result is, it should be a pretty good baseline to see how Texas will do in the SEC.”
Nichols: How do you think this matchup could affect the future of the SEC as Texas is set to join next year?
Huang: “I mean, obviously this is a really big nonconference matchup this year, but starting next year, this is going to be normal. I think the Longhorns just have to be ready for that. Even in the Big 12, there are still a lot of hostile road environments. But it’s next level in the SEC. And so, I think especially for maybe some of the younger guys, this will be a wake-up call for them.”
Nichols: Is there anything else that you’d like to share or add?
Huang: “I don’t know if I said this earlier or not, but I think he’s [Ewers] definitely more mature now than he was this time last year. I think that’s a huge thing for him because I personally think that maybe last year, the expectations for him were maybe a little inflated just because when he was at Ohio State, he frankly didn’t really play any meaningful minutes. And so, prior to coming to Texas, the last time he played a full season of football was high school. Obviously, that’s a huge jump, that’s a huge change. And so, it really felt like for a majority of last year, he was still learning it, learning the offense and just figuring out how to stay poised when things didn’t go his way. I feel like he’s past that. I feel like he really seems to have a hold and then a command of this team now. I would imagine he does better on Saturday compared to last year. But he did get injured.”
Kickoff is set for Saturday at 6:00 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
