Week 2: (3) Alabama vs (11) Texas 

In this Week 2 matchup, Texas looks to finally beat Alabama in a game that has playoff implications. Both teams are 1-0 and look nearly even in terms of talent. With Texas sitting at #11 and Alabama sitting nicely at #3, the stakes of this game are incredibly high. 

The most evident gap is in the front 7, with Alabama being an experienced group with talent depth. DE Justin Eboigbe is an experienced starter. He is relentless off the edge and heavy enough to play interior. He is extremely powerful at the point of attack and has crazy speed on the perimeter. The front rotates heavily with not much drop-off to the next group. Jaheim Oates is a hoss upfront. As a freshman in 2022, Oates saw significant playing time.

The offensive line for Texas is good, but not great. They have a few young starters playing with the strength of the line coming from the right side. The rotation and multiple front defense that Alabama shows will be a challenge for Quinn Ewers and the Texas offense. Ewers will likely have to get the ball in playmakers' hands fast and lean on his running backs in the run-and-pass game. 

The WR/DB matchup seems even with both teams having a pair of good receivers. Texas has the upper hand in terms of dynamic receivers with Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy being two of the top receivers in the nation. These guys are explosive and can carry an offense if given the opportunity. Ewers will need these two to come up big. 

When I am evaluating a matchup, if the teams seem evenly matched in terms of ability, I will default to the strength of the QB play. Jalen Milroe is not a better quarterback than Ewers, but he has more ability in terms of extending plays. In this matchup, I will defer to Alabama. If this game becomes a heavily contested defensive battle, the playmaking ability of Milroe will be the X-Factor. If Milroe is able to protect the ball, I see Alabama winning this game by way of constant ball movement and clock control. If this becomes a passing battle, I do not think that strategy works to Alabama’s strengths.  

Prediction: Alabama 32 Texas 21

(Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)

As wide open as the college landscape is for recruiting, with the new transfer portal, the movement is more erratic than ever. In a calendar year, we've seen college freshmen at two different schools and we've seen coaches recruit players for another school while still at a school. Now that everyone has seen the good and the bad of the transfer portal, teams are not beginning to take full advantage of it and Texas has benefited greatly. 

In 2021, Steve Sarkisian began his first season as Head Coach of the Longhorns where he led them to an unimpressive 5-7 record. With the perpetual turmoil that the Texas program has faced over the last 10 years, fans expected the offensive mastermind to bring a taste of Bama with him and win immediately. However, building a program like Texas would prove to have more challenges than expected, specifically in recruiting. Because of the concentration of schools in Texas and its proximity to many major SEC powerhouses, Texas has struggled to bring in the best talent and to even compete for its conference. Since 2009, Texas has only had one season of 10 wins or more.

With the shortage of consistent talent and no recruiting grasp on their state, schools like Texas A&M have surpassed them for the most recent success. Now, Coach Sarkisian is looking to change that. Spending some time at Alabama, Sarkisian was around for the recruitment of Tight End Jahleel Billingsley and Agiye Hall, who are both now a part of the Texas Longhorn program. 

Both Billingsley and Hall both entered the portal this calendar year and we're both a part of the 2021 season, where they faced struggles within the program. Saban spoke about both guys at different points in the season regarding their commitment to the program. Billingsley was one of the top playmakers at the tight end position in 2021, but he could not rise to the occasion in the National Championship where he had multiple drops and ultimately failed the team.

In a similar case with Hall, he was known to have several run-ins with Nick Saban, where he was not being an asset to the team and disregarding team policies like tweeting about the program negatively. Billingsley entered the portal in January and Hall entered in April.

Despite leaving the Alabama program, both guys will be expected to be big contributors to the Texas program. They will be two of the best prospects on the team and will surely have a chance to start day 1. Bama will more than likely lead recruiting rankings again and with Texas bringing in former 4 and 5-star guys, they are looking to ease their way into the conversation for the top program in the nation. Unironically, Texas and Alabama will face off in the second game of the season and Texas is expected to move into the SEC prior to the 2025 season.

Writer

-By: LeMarkus Bailey

New coach Steve Sarkisian has one of the toughest first-year decisions to make in his inaugural season in Austin: decide who replaces legendary Longhorns QB, Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger ranks fourth in school history in wins (27), second in passing yards (11,436), passing touchdowns (94), total offense (13,358), and total touchdowns (127). Those are some big shoes to fill!

The battle has whittled itself down to two options: junior Casey Thompson and redshirt freshman Hudson Card. Thompson has the leg up on Card, seeing action in the second half of Texas’ Alamo Bowl win over Colorado (8/10, 170 yards, and four touchdowns), but has to hold off the uber-talented Card. Let’s break them both down

Casey Thompson (6-1 194, Junior)

Thompson has been waiting a while for his chance to play. The junior out of Oklahoma City enrolled in January 2018, and after redshirting the 2018 season, saw limited action in both 2019 and 2020. Thompson wasn’t the highest-rated recruit, ranking as the No. 15 dual-threat QB in the 2018 class by 247Sports and the 438th-ranked player nationally. He was thrilled to see Sark choose the Longhorns, texting AD Chris Del Conte for Sark’s number and consuming Alabama tape as soon as the hire was announced. 

Hudson Card (6-2 195, Redshirt Freshman)

The local kid out of Lake Travis High School in Austin, Card oozes with talent and will give Thompson all he can handle in the QB battle. Ranked as the No. 3 dual-threat QB in the nation by 247Sports, Card was a decorated high school quarterback. I’m not going to list all of his accomplishments, but you can look here if you want to look. The freshman appeared in two games in the 2020 season while keeping his redshirt, throwing a combined three passes. 

Notes About the Competition so Far

As with most of these other battles, we don’t have a definitive favorite yet. Sark gave his thoughts on the battle earlier in April:

“Clearly, they’re both very athletic, young men,” Sarkisian said to the media earlier this month on the quarterback battle. “They throw the ball well. I think they’ve got a good grasp of what we’re trying to do. Now, it’s just getting into the flow of letting things happen naturally and not playing quite as robotic. “But I think, all in all, I’m pleased with where we’re at that position.”

While Thompson appears to have the slight edge due to experience and age, neither was really able to make a statement during the Texas spring game. Card (15-for-25 passing for 168 yards and a touchdown) and Thompson (23-for-42 for 242 yards and two interceptions) were both up and down. Thompson worked with the first team and Card worked with the second team, emphasizing that slight edge Thompson has over Card.

Every indication suggests this battle will get whittled down in the summer as the season approaches. I’ll leave you with a quote Sark gave to the media earlier in April on what he’s looking for in his quarterbacks, who have combined for just 32 collegiate passes.

“Basically the one thing I look for in a quarterback early on is, does he throw a catchable ball,” Sarkisian said. “Because the idea when you call pass plays is to complete them. And to complete passes, most likely, you have to put it in an area with the right velocity and/or touch to allow the receiver to catch the ball and advance the football.

“I think there are some things fundamentally we can work on to enhance their accuracy, but I think some people have a knack for throwing an accurate ball, a catchable ball. And some people don’t, no matter how talented they are.” 

Writer

-By: TJ Mathewson