Why No. 3 Alabama will need bullies or a magician for its showdown against No. 10 Texas
Calling all the bullies. Clip on those chin straps and report for duty.
Offseason messaging from Alabama football pointed toward a return to a more physical brand of play that marked the early years of Nick Saban's dynasty. Colloquially, we know this style as “bully ball.”
Its beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Its dominance became unquestioned.
Four times – in 2009 and again in 2011, 2012 and 2017 – Alabama paired a defense that ranked either No. 1 or 2 nationally with a top-20 rushing attack to win national championships.
Saturday against Texas would be a good time for No. 3 Alabama to show some throwback ruthlessness, because the No. 10 Longhorns pack their own fierce punch.
“This is going to be a good barometer for us to find out, where are we as a team?” Saban said Monday.
Specifically, is Alabama built for beauty or brawn?
Don’t be fooled by the Big 12 logo residing on Texas’ jerseys for one more year. Steve Sarkisian’s group plays with the physicality of an SEC team. Alabama shouldn't need a reminder of that.
The Longhorns pushed around the Crimson Tide throughout four quarters last year in Austin. The only bullies in the building that day wore burnt orange.
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Fortunately for Alabama, it countered with a magician.
Bryce Young engineered two long fourth-quarter scoring drives. He whistled a fourth-down completion into a tight window and later faced down an onslaught of three Texas pass rushers and zipped an off-balance bullet into the end zone for a touchdown. On Alabama’s winning drive, Young ducked underneath an unblocked blitzing Longhorn before scrambling for 20 yards to set up a winning field goal.
To use Sarkisian’s description, a “Houdini act.”
Alabama shouldn’t depend on its quarterback waving a wand this time, though.
Young now wears an NFL uniform, while Texas returned some bullies.
“They play really good up front,” Saban said. “They’re physical.”
And Alabama? It wants to play physical, even promised to play physical.
The Tide offensive line is huge – bigger than an average NFL unit. Tackles JC Latham and Kadyn Proctor and guard Tyler Booker combine to give Alabama three starting linemen who tip the scales at more than 350 pounds.
Big doesn’t ensure fearsomeness, though.
Proving the latter is Alabama’s mission.
“I want us to be ruthless," Latham said during the spring. "Every time we line up and get ready to hike the ball — I want (opponents) to be scared of us.”
Texas may feel no fear.
Despite playing a backup quarterback throughout the final three quarters of last year's matchup and facing the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, the Longhorns lost by a single point. They returned an enviable amount of production, and they're rearmed with starting quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Texas became the butt of many a joke for the better part of a decade. Too often, it played soft while wandering through mediocrity, post Mack Brown.
Sarkisian is rectifying that.
After Iowa State pulverized Texas in 2021 during Sarkisian’s first season, an infamous video made the rounds online that recorded Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis lighting into players for their weak play.
Davis’ tongue-lashing featured too many profanities to quote him here, but here's the paraphrased version: Toughen up, buttercups, or get the heck off this team.
Message received.
Texas' team strengths now include a sturdy offensive line that returned every starter and a veteran defensive front six anchored by Jaylan Ford, one of the nation’s best linebackers. The Longhorns surrendered barely more than a yard per rush in a season-opening win over Rice, an inadequate comparison to Alabama.
Likewise, Alabama overpowered Middle Tennessee, but the Blue Raiders were a poor preview of what the Tide should get from the Longhorns.
Big-boy football will be played Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
Time to separate the buttercups from the bullies.
Blake Toppmeyer is the Paste BN Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.