Since taking over in 2007, Alabama head coach Nick Saban has won six national championships, eight SEC championships and has accumulated an overall record of 179-25 with the Crimson Tide. 

Saban typically loses loads of players to the NFL Draft every year, yet still manages to rebuild his team into one of the most talented in the country. This year, however, he brought back most of the key components of last year’s team that fell 33-18 in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. 

When No. 1 Alabama rolls into Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, the Crimson Tide will not lack starpower, including 2021 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young.

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In his first season starting for the Crimson Tide, Young passed for 4,872 yards, 47 touchdowns and completed about 67% of his passes. Last week, Young threw five touchdowns before being subbed out early in the third quarter against Utah State.

Part of what makes Young so special is that he can torch teams in a multitude of ways. Despite a relatively smaller frame, Young possesses a powerful arm and has the pinpoint accuracy needed to make virtually any throw. Though he didn’t run the ball much last season, the junior can hurt opposing defenses with his legs, rushing for 100 yards last week against Utah State. 

“You can tell he’s in his game plan from sun-up to sun-down,” Texas senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said. “He’s expecting the defense to do certain things when he sees somebody lined up in a certain position. He’s a smart, intelligent player. We got to be on our p’s and q’s when going against him.”

While Texas will certainly have to gameplan for the Heisman winner, Young may not be the most feared player on the top-ranked team in the country. Enter junior linebacker Will Anderson Jr. 

Anderson, who many project as the first pick in this year’s NFL draft, presents a multitude of problems for redshirt freshman quarterback Quinn Ewers and his offensive line. Anderson is strong enough to power through opposing offensive lineman and quick enough to drop back into coverage as well.

Anderson racked up an impressive 17.5 sacks last year en route to winning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy for best linebacker in the country. If Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian does not adequately prepare for the linebacker, he risks Anderson wreaking havoc on Ewers in his first major test as a college quarterback. 

“Ultimately, we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got a good plan,” Sarkisian said. “(We need to) remain creative to give our players the best chance to have success.” 

With Alabama being the first No. 1 team to compete against Texas at DKR since Ohio State in 2006, the anticipation for Saturday’s contest is real. In fact, both ESPN’s “College GameDay” and Fox’s ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ will be in Austin to preview the matchup.

Since the hype for the Alabama matchup has the potential to shake up how Texas performs, the Longhorns have focused on making sure they do what they can this week to not let the moment become too big.

“(We’ll) prepare the same way we do every week,” Ewers said. “At the end of the day, it’s another opportunity we have to go out there and show what we can do. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”