Alabama and Texas will someday meet as Southeastern Conference rivals, bidding for supremacy against one another within the league.
Just not quite yet.
The 11th-ranked Longhorns (1-0), who are on their last go-around in the Big 12 Conference before joining the SEC next season, will visit third-ranked Alabama (1-0) on Saturday night in a game that has everything but the league stakes. The winner should enter or remain firmly in the national championship conversation, while the loser should remain among the favorites in its conference.
Either way, it’s certainly a better barometer for where both teams stand than their blowout openers. Texas is hitting the road after last week’s 37-10 home win against Rice in Austin, while the Crimson Tide are in Tuscaloosa for the second straight Saturday after a 56-7 win against Middle Tennessee State.
“It’s a great opportunity for our team to see kind of where you’re at as a football team,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “Everybody wonders that all the time.”