With just a few years left before the University of Texas (UT) officially joins the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Longhorns will get a taste of what life would be like competing in college football’s most elite conference on Saturday when perennial national championship favorite Alabama visits Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium.
Mostly everyone, from fans to commentators, have pegged the matchup another easy victory for the vaunted Crimson Tide, but to UT head coach Steve Sarkisian, it’s just another Saturday, per a report from Austin NBC affiliate KXAN.
The monumental faceoff follows the Longhorns’ 52-10 season-opening victory over Louisiana-Monroe.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers introduced himself to the burnt orange faithful to the tune of 225 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
“Anytime you win, it always feels pretty good, then we give them a dose of reality on Monday morning of the things that we need to improve upon,” Sarkisian said, KXAN reported.
According to the station, the Longhorns enter the Alabama game 20-point underdogs.
Sarkisian, who’s in his second year in Austin, said that isn’t his and his program’s main concern, KXAN reported.
“You can get caught up in being worried about Alabama, you can get caught up in being worried about [ESPN] Game Day being here, you can get caught up in being worried about FOX [Big Game Kickoff Show)] being here, you can get caught up in all this stuff that really is irrelevant to our ability to play good football,” he said, the station reported.
KXAN reported that Sarkisian has a connection with the Crimson Tide as he was its offensive coordinator on an interim and a full-time basis.
He was in the booth when Alabama captured the 2020 national title.
The last time the Longhorns and the Crimson Tide played each other was the 2009 national championship game in Pasadena, California. Alabama won 37-21.