Even with next Saturday’s game in Tuscaloosa at Bryant-Denny Stadium, oddsmakers see less separation between the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide and the No. 11 Texas Longhorns this season, with the Crimson Tide 7.5-point favorites on Sunday, according to DraftKings.*
In the equally-anticipated 2022 matchup in Austin, the Crimson Tide opened as 19.5-point favorites, a line in line with the college football world, which anticipated Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian suffering a blowout at the cold hands of his former mentor, Nick Saban.
Instead, No. 11 Texas took No. 4 Alabama down to the wire, opening a 16-10 lead early in the fourth quarter and regaining following a Crimson Tide touchdown when then-unproven kicker Bert Auburn hit a 49-yard field goal with 1:29 remaining.