Why Bet on the Texas Longhorns?

These teams played a great game early last season in Austin, with the Tide rallying for a 20-19 victory on the strength of a 33-yard field goal by kicker Will Reichard with 10 seconds left. Bama QB Bryce Young went 27-of-39 for 213 yards and a touchdown while adding 38 rushing yards on seven carries but is now in the NFL. Texas QB Quinn Ewers was knocked out with a shoulder injury at the end of the first quarter and remains the UT quarterback.

Even with last year’s loss, Texas leads the all-time series 7-2-1, the best record by any school against Alabama with a minimum of five meetings. Texas will travel to Tuscaloosa for the second time in series history and first time since the first-ever game between the programs in 1902.

The Horns opened this season with a 37-10 win over Rice. Ewers completed 19-of-30 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with Jonathon Brooks, Ja’Tavion Sanders and Adonai Mitchell for scores. Defensively, Texas forced three turnovers, highlighted by the fifth career interception for senior linebacker Jaylan Ford, the seventh turnover he has forced in the last eight games. Texas limited Rice to 27 rushing yards, the fewest yards on the ground Texas has surrendered since 2018 (-5, USC).

Ewers has thrown 146 consecutive passes without an interception, the fourth-longest streak in program history. UT’s offensive line returns all five starters with Kelvin Banks, Jr., Hayden Conner, Jake Majors, Cole Hutson and Christian Jones back for the 2023 season, the first time in at least 30 years that the entire starting O-Line is back.

Texas will play on the road at an AP Top-5 opponent for the first time since 2017 (USC). The Longhorns are 9-12 all-time in true road games versus AP Top-5 opponents. UT is 96-83-4 all-time in AP Top-25 matchups. Texas is 10-10 all-time when the Horns are one of the teams in ESPN College GameDay’s featured matchup.

Why Bet on the Alabama Crimson Tide?

Alabama crushed Middle Tennessee 56-7 in Week 1 for its national-best 21 straight home win. Making just his second career start, quarterback Jalen Milroe accounted for five touchdowns and 242 total yards of offense. Milroe closed the night with 194 yards and three touchdowns through the air, while also rushing seven times for 48 yards and a pair of scores. Eight different receivers caught at least one pass in the win, led by Isaiah Bonds with five catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.

After closing the 2022 season with an average of 7.9 penalties and 68.7 penalty yards per game, the Tide had just two penalties for 19 yards in the win against the Blue Raiders. Bama won for the 52nd time in its last 53 games when it scores a touchdown on the team’s first offensive possession of the game.

The Alabama defense limited Middle Tennessee to 78 rushing yards in the contest to mark the eighth time in the last 14 games, and 18th time in the last 29 games dating back to 2021, that the Crimson Tide defense has held its opponent to under 80 yards rushing in a contest.

Alabama will be making its 55th appearance overall (35-19, .648) on ESPN’s College GameDay. Saturday also marks Alabama’s 46th appearance under head coach Nick Saban (32-13, .711). Saban is 28-2 all-time against his former staffers during his tenure at the Capstone. Saban will meet Steve Sarkisian for the second time since the former Tide offensive coordinator left Tuscaloosa for Austin.

Saban has won 73 of his last 76 contests at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and his overall record against non-conference opponents in both the regular season and postseason at Alabama is 73-7 (.913). Saban has only two losses to non-conference opponents during the regular season, both of which came in 2007 (21-14 vs. Florida State [in Jacksonville] and 21-14 vs. ULM). Under his direction, the Crimson Tide currently holds a 57-game winning streak against non-conference foes in the regular season, including a 43-game winning streak at Bryant-Denny Stadium as part of a 45-1 mark at home.

The Crimson Tide are 76-20 (.792) against the Associated Press Top 25 since the start of 2008. That record includes a 4-2 mark during the 2022 season.

There are two key injuries for Bama worth monitoring, as defensive backs Malachi Moore and Jaylen Key are day-to-day after getting hurt in the opener. Moore was the starter at Star and Key, a transfer from UAB, got the start at free safety next to freshman Caleb Downs and had a pick. Their backups are listed as Kristian Story and Earl Little II, both of whom saw time in the Middle Tennessee game.

Texas vs. Alabama Betting Trends

• Texas are 7-3 SU in the last 10 games.
• Texas are 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games played on a Saturday.
• The total went under in 13 of Texas’ last 20 games.
• Alabama are 5-0 SU in the last 5 games.
• Alabama are 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games played in September.
• The total went over in 4 of Alabama’s last 6 games.

Texas vs. Alabama Expert Betting Predictions

Alabama 34, Texas 27.

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