Kirk Herbstreit Explains ‘The Game Within the Game’ For Alabama vs. Texas
The biggest game in Week 2 of the college football season is Texas vs. Alabama from Tuscaloosa, where College GameDay is also located on Saturday morning.
And during the GameDay broadcast, analyst Kirk Herbstreit gave his take on what will ultimately decide the game, saying, “Alabama’s offensive line, three guys up front, 350 pounds or larger… Texas’ defensive linemen that will look better than anything Alabama has. Texas’ defensive line is legit. Texas’ defensive line against Alabama’s offensive line is the game within the game.”
Other storylines in this game include Steve Sarkisian heading back to Tuscaloosa for the first time since serving as the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator under Nick Saban in 2019-20. Over the course of Saban’s career, he has a 28-2 record over former assistants who face him as a head coach.
Last year, these two teams met in Austin and the Crimson Tide pulled off a 20-19 win over the Longhorns. Quinn Ewers was electric to start the game going 9-of-12 for 134 yards and had the Longhorns in position to score their first touchdown of the game when he suffered an injury to his left shoulder on a sack by Alabama’s Dallas Turner. It took the wind out of UT’s sails.
Back to this game, another game within the game to watch is who wins between Texas’ wide receivers and Alabama’s defensive backfield. Caleb Downs and Kool-Aid McKinstry give the Tide the best safety-corner duo in the nation, while Jaylen Key, Terrion Arnold, and Malachi Moore bring this unit right near the top nationally. But Xavier Worthy, Ja’Tavion Sanders, AD Mitchell, and Johntay Cook will present quite the challenge for Bama’s back seven.
The game will kick off at 6:00 p.m. CST on ESPN.
