On3 Roundtable: What gives Alabama an edge over Texas in Week 2

Last season, Alabama traveled to Texas where the Crimson Tide were nearly upset by the Longhorns. This season, Texas is returning the trip and heading to Tuscaloosa in Week 2 for what should be one of the early college football season’s best games.

During a conversation with BamaOnline’s Tim Watts and Inside Texas’ Bobby Burton with On3’s JD PicKell, Watts broke down where Alabama has an edge over Texas in this game in the wake of Bryce Young moving on to the NFL and the Crimson Tide bringing in two new coordinators.

“I really wonder if it’s not the uncertainty for Texas,” Watts said on On3 Roundtable. “I mean, how are you planning for Alabama right now? Because Alabama can definitely scout out Texas.”

“You know they’ve got [Xavier] Worthy. You know they’ve got AD [Mitchell] the transfer from Georgia. Their offensive line’s good and you know who their quarterback is. So, Bama’s able to put some stuff in play. Texas, on the other hand, you can’t really scheme if you don’t know if it’s Jalen [Milroe], you don’t know if it’s Tyler [Buchner], and you don’t know if it’s Ty Simpson. So I think that’s an advantage” Watts said.

“Now, you’ll see some of that in game one, who’s the starter and stuff like that, but neither team is going to tip their hand in that opening, basically preseason, game.”

Right now, the biggest question surrounding Alabama is the quarterback position. There are five quarterbacks on the roster and three are considered possible starters. That list includes Ty Simpson, Jalen Milroe, and Tyler Buchner.

Buchner, a transfer from Notre Dame, came to play for his former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. However, that hasn’t guaranteed him the job, and Jalen Milroe, who has played in 12 career games for Alabama, seems to be pushing for the job.

Greg McElroy on the Alabama-Texas game

One person who is incredibly excited about this early season matchup is college football analyst Greg McElroy. A former Alabama quarterback, McElroy expects this to be one of the most interesting non-conference games of the season.

“Texas has everything that you could possibly want. Hopefully Quinn Ewers looks like the guy that was on the field at the beginning of the season last year. Not the guy that was on at the end of the year. He didn’t play as well down the stretch. But if he can regain his form — clearly looks more confident based on his spring game performance, given the fact that Steve Sarkisian has already put his stamp of approval on him as QB1 for the Longhorns. They have excellent playmakers. Isaiah Neyor’s back healthy. Gotta fill the void that is Bijan Robinson, but either way, Texas, across the board, should be drastically improved. The roster is excellent,” McElroy said.

“And Alabama on the other side, gotta replace the quarterback spot. Of course this game will be early in the season in Tuscaloosa. But good, solid playmakers. The defense at all three levels should be very, very solid. So a few things that they need to iron out for sure. But Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, hosting the Longhorns, should be an incredible matchup.”