Can Alabama’s dominant win against Utah State help them prepare for Texas?

By WVUA 23 Digital Reporter Hunter De Siver

The Alabama Crimson Tide rolled over the Utah State Aggies on Saturday night, 55-0.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban always says never to overlook the opponent and consider every game important.

Saturday night’s win was one of dominance on both sides of the ball. Defending Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young threw for five touchdowns and rushed for a career-high 100 yards and another touchdown.

Alabama’s new “ryde out” receivers, Traeshon Holden, Kobe Prentice and Jermaine Burton each had five receptions. Holden and Burton each had two touchdowns. Even with a completely different receiving core, Young knew what they were capable of.

“All the receivers pitched in and did a great job,” Young said at the postgame press conference. “I was excited for the first time with this new group down the field.”

Shutting out an opponent is a remarkable feat. Allowing 57 passing yards is on another level. 

Usually, when a defense allows few to no points, people assume they had interceptions and fumble recoveries. The Tide’s linebackers and secondary were excellent in pass coverage as Utah State quarterbacks Logan Bonner, Levi Williams and Cooper Legas combined for eight completions on 22 attempts. Linebackers Jaylen Moody and Will Anderson Jr. led the defense in tackles and they each had a tackle for loss.

Saban’s goal in practice this week is to continue to enhance the team even more as they prepare for the highly anticipated road game against the Texas Longhorns.

“There are things we need to improve on and players need to understand the importance of sustaining the kind of intensity so we can build and improve as a team,” Saban said at the postgame press conference.

All eyes are on Saturday as ESPN’s “College Gameday” crew is traveling to Austin to make their picks. The Tide is heavily favored.

UT defeated UL Monroe 55-10 on Saturday. Highly scouted freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers and potential Heisman Trophy candidate, running back Bijan Robinson, are two of the Longhorns to watch this week.

Alabama’s Million Dollar Band won’t be making the trip to Austin after they were informed that a limited number of seats in the nosebleeds would be reserved for them. That might be all the motivation Alabama needs to cover the -19.5 spread.

Even though it is considered the game of the day, it will be played at 11 a.m. on Fox. Students at UT created a petition in May asking to change the kickoff time. Despite the petition’s nearly 4,000 signatures, the powers that be didn’t budge.