Alabama matchup vs Texas breaks two long droughts

When Alabama battles the Texas Longhorns on Sept. 10, it will snap two prolonged droughts for the Crimson Tide, according to Alabama beat reporter and insider Mike Rodak.

The first of which being the last time Alabama played in a game on Fox was the Sugar Bowl following the 2008 season against Utah. The SEC’s games all air on either CBS, ESPN(+) or the SEC Network, so that isn’t as baffling.

However, September’s matchup will also see the Crimson Tide meet Texas on the gridiron for the first time in 100 years. That’s right, a century ago, back in October 1922, which resulted in a 19-10 win for Texas. Rodak added that Alabama began the 1922 season by beating Marion Military Institute, 110-0, and then the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels, 41-0; two defunct teams that felt the same routings the Crimson Tide are known for 100 seasons later.

Texas owns a 7-1-1 all-time record against Alabama, the only win for the Crimson Tide coming in the 2009 BCS Championship game. Otherwise, it’s been historical dominance for the Longhorns.

Both programs enter 2022 with high expectations, as it will be the second season for Steve Sarkisian as Longhorns coach. He previously served on the Crimson Tide staff, winning a national championship in 2020 under Nick Saban. Alabama returns last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young at quarterback as it aims to make its eighth appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Meanwhile, Texas went 5-7 and missed a bowl game for the first time in four years. The Longhorns brought in quarterback Quinn Ewers, the No. 3 overall player according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings, in to help turn things around. Texas also returns star running back Bijan Robinson and leading receiver Xavier Worthy to make up what is projected to be an explosive offense.

Their upcoming meeting will be the final before Texas moves to the SEC alongside Oklahoma in 2025, and Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is no stranger to the conference that has produced the last three national champions.

After a brief stint with the Crimson Tide in 2016, Sarkisian then returned to the Crimson Tide’s program to serve as Nick Saban’s primary offensive coordinator for the 2019 and 2020 seasons – helping guide Alabama to the 2020 College Football Playoff national championship, and is taking his experiences in Tuscaloosa and applying them to the Longhorns’ program before the SEC move.

“There’s a lot of great aspects of [Alabama] that I think we can take with us, but naturally, we have to do the things I’m comfortable doing and doing it the way that best suits us,” Sarkisian said. “There’s great coaches in the SEC, there’s really good players, there’s big people, there’s fast people. 

“We’ve got to assemble a really good staff, which I think we’ve done. We’ve got to recruit on a really high level, which I think that we’ve shown that we can do. And then ultimately get those players big enough, faster and stronger.”