Saturday Spotlight
(1) Alabama Crimson Tide at Texas Longhorns
Alabama: When I heard that their 55-point win was their biggest margin of victory under Nick Saban, I paused because I never knew that. When I recorded my first episode of “What’s On Tap” on Instagram, I jokingly stated that they had a scrimmage against Utah State and I don’t think I was too far off because they pitched a shutout against them. Nothing changes with them. We know they are going to be dominant, they will breeze through the SEC West, make the SEC conference title game and be one of the four playoff teams to hear their name get called. It’s a routine at this point. This Alabama team has one of my favorite players in the country. He goes by the name of Will Anderson and you can make a case for him being the best player in the country. What’s scary about Will is he simply powers himself to where he wants to be. Most pass rushers have a go-to move when pursuing the quarterback. Will just uses elusiveness but when he does develop that move whether it’s a spin move or something, watch out. He will only get scarier from there. This morning, they will travel to Austin to face a Texas team attempting to get back into the spotlight.
Texas: I’m really trying my best to figure them out. Everyone likes to claim they’re back, but in all honesty, they aren’t and haven’t been since the year they made it to the National Title game. Let’s look back at their week one victory over Louisiana Monroe. One thing I took away was their young offensive line being able to block and open up lanes for the running game. Freshmen Kelvin Banks and Cole Hutson each set the tone up front. I think the most impressive stat is them giving up only a handful of pressures and only one sack. Week 1 also marked the debut of the transfer Quarterback, Quinn Ewers. He has a quick release and he plays the position with that gunslinger mentality. When I watch him play, he reminds me some of Philip Rivers when I watch him throw. Last season, the Texas defense missed that leadership. I’m referring to that one player that rallies the troops when necessary. It’s safe to say they have that now in linebacker, DeMarvion Overshown. He’s a Senior with the experience and when he leads, everyone follows. They will welcome a powerhouse to town this morning.
Alabama X-Factor: Traeshon Holden– He is finally getting his chance to start at wide receiver. If he wants to be mentioned with all of the other great Alabama wide receivers (Smith, Jeudy, Jones & Williams), he has work to do. I like watching how he goes up for the football and once it hits his hands, he’s turning on the burners. Traeshon adds firepower to Alabama’s arsenal of wide receivers.
Texas X-Factor: Ja’Tavion Sanders– He was highly recruited coming out of high school. Ja’Tavion can play on both sides of the football. However, his natural position is Tight End. Ewers developed good chemistry with Sanders early on. He became that safety valve for the quarterback. That’s usually what Tight Ends do in the passing game for the quarterback. I look for him to create as many mismatches as possible.
Final Thoughts: Tell me if you’ve heard this before. Nick Saban will face another former assistant of his. Steve Sarkisian was Alabama’s offensive coordinator before accepting the Texas head coaching job. This is also the first meeting between these schools since January 7th, 2010 when they played one another in the National Championship, the first that Saban won with Alabama. 12 years later, here we are. For Texas to do the unthinkable, Bijan Robinson must be on his a-game. The Longhorns must feed him the football early and often. There are 2 things that help a young quarterback. The 1st is a consistent ground attack and the other is a receiver or someone to check the ball down too. For the Tide, they will enter with their balanced attack offensively. The difference in this game will be the depth of the Alabama offensive and defensive lines compared to what the Longhorns have.
Prediction: Alabama 51, Texas 23
