When it Comes to Knowing Alabama Football, Few Understand Better than Steve Sarkisian
When it comes to college football programs that have a reputation that precedes itself, Alabama is near the top of the list.
Week in and week out every season due to its success under head coach Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide knows that it fill face opponents who will bring their A-game — whether that game is played under the awning of Bryant-Denny Stadium or in front of a hostile environment on the road.
That statement is just accurate for Alabama's upcoming opponent in Texas and its head coach, Steve Sarkisian.
While not at the height of its success, the Longhorns have one of the most storied programs in college football history. In fact, when facing the Crimson Tide head-to-head, the Longhorns boast a 7-1-1 all-time lead in the series, with Alabama's sole victory being its 37-21 victory in the 2010 BCS title game.
The teams haven't faced each other since, but after over a decade of waiting, it's finally time for the long-awaited rematch.
Alabama's reputation as a tough, gritty opponent fails to get past any head coach next on its calendar. That especially applies to Sarkisian, who might know the Crimson Tide better than any other coach outside of the program.
"As far as this ball game goes, another great challenge; a very good football team, very well coached," Sarkisian said of Alabama on Monday. "Good team, good players, good schemes. But ultimately, this is about us and our ability to prepare, our ability to practice really well. Our ability to focus on what we need to do to play to the best of our ability.
After being fired in October of 2015 from his position as head coach of the USC Trojans, Sarkisian served a brief stint with Alabama in 2016 before becoming the team's offensive coordinator in the 2017 national title game after Lane Kiffin unceremoniously departed the Crimson Tide to become the head coach at Florida Atlantic.
After two seasons in the NFL as the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons, Sarkisian returned to Tuscaloosa to serve the same position in 2019. After Alabama won the 2020 CFP title, Sarkisian was named the new head coach at Texas.
While fans tout Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Ole Miss' Kiffin as opposing coaches that know Alabama's program inside and out, Sarkisian has coached the Crimson Tide far more recently. While Kiffin developed Alabama's modern offense, it was Sarkisian that maintained its success and provided his own number of tweaks — not to mention in years more recently.
This past week, one of Sarkisian's quotes went viral: a quote that many might have misconstrued as him downplaying the importance of the Longhorns' upcoming game with the Crimson Tide.
"I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is like, 'This is gonna be the game that's gonna define our program,'" Sarkisian said. "It might, it might not. I'm not that concerned about it. I'm more concerned about just the way we play the game. I've said all along: My goal is to be in Dallas on Dec. 3 [for the Big 12 title game]. This game has no impact on that."
Sarkisian is correct: his team's game against Alabama doesn't have any affect on his team's chances at reaching the Big 12 title game. However, while many misinterpreted him for apathy, it takes much more than just one quote taken out of context to understand how important this game is to Sarkisian.
Take this statement from him, which Sarkisian said in the same press conference.
"The biggest thing for us is to be enamored with us," Sarkisian said. "I think one of the real challenges you can get caught up in is being worried about Alabama. You can get caught up in being worried about [ESPN College] GameDay being here. You can get caught up being worried about FOX [Big Noon Kickoff] being here. You can get caught up in all this stuff that really is irrelevant to our ability to play good football, so we need to be enamored with us, focused on us. Make sure that we're doing the things necessary for us to do our job really well."
Does that sound like someone who is downplaying the importance of this game and not taking it seriously? Hardly. Let there be no mistake: while college football fans might think that Texas is walking into this game with their heads down and accepting defeat before the ball is even kicked off due to Alabama's reputation, that simply isn't the case.
The reality of the situation is entirely different. Due to Sarkisian's knowledge of the Alabama program, it makes him and Texas quite a dangerous opponent. As mentioned earlier, there are few former assistants of Saban that know him better than Sarkisian. Sure, Smart might have been with him for far longer, but given his recency with the Crimson Tide, the edge might belong to Sarkisian.
And Sarkisian has been taking the steps to ensure that his team is prepared. While Texas opened the season last weekend by hosting Louisiana-Monroe, its gameplan for Alabama was completed far earlier.
“I’ll be honest with you, this gameplan was done probably about three months ago," Sarkisian said. "And I’m sure their gameplan was done about probably three months ago. I don’t think either of us thought going into Week 1 we were going to see something new that was going to drastically change what we were gonna do. So we have a pretty good idea of what we wanted to do in this game and I’m sure they have a pretty good idea on both sides of the ball what they want to do in this game. Ultimately, adjustments like any game are a huge component to that.
“That’s really no different than any other game, but the reality of it is in this one because of the history with one another I think there’s gotta be some real detailed things that we need to look for.”
Sarkisian finishing his gameplan months before the game takes place doesn't sound like somebody that is going to be taken aback by Alabama this weekend. As someone intimately familiar with the program, Sarkisian knows all of the challenges that the Crimson Tide presents on both sides of the football. Not only did Sarkisian lead Saban's offense, but he also had to face a defense led by Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding every day during practice, so the familiarity isn't lost, regardless of what side of the football you approach him from.
Earlier this week, Saban lauded his former offensive coordinator.
“I think he's a very bright guy, very well organized," Saban said. "He did an outstanding job when he was here. He's got a good system. He understands defense. He likes to see what you're in if he can, so that he can run a play that's going to be an effective play against that particular look or give his players the best chance to be successful. I think all those things and a combination of those things and good preparation, make you a really, really good play caller."
This weekend's game presents a number of challenges for both Alabama and Texas. For the Crimson Tide, it presents a hostile road environment against a former Saban assistant that arguably knows his team better than any other coach in college football. For the Longhorns and Sarkisian, it presents an Alabama team that is not only on the warpath en route to the College Football Playoff, but also the mental hurdles that come along with its daunting reputation of success in big games.
Sarkisian praised Saban for his work in coaching Alabama, but also reiterated the task at hand for him and his players.
"As you guys know, with Coach Saban and myself, I have the utmost respect for him, not only as a man, but as a coach," Sarkisian said. "He's tremendous at game planning. He's a very good schemer in all three phases — offense, defense, special teams — and he's a really good motivator. He does a nice job motivating his team and getting them ready to play.
"So for us — for me — the challenge is I can't worry about what he's doing in their locker room and in their team room. I have to shift my focus on making sure that we're game-planning really well and that we're scheming really well so that our guys are motivated to play and have the right mental intensity, not just on Saturday, but on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, so that we've got good focus and that we can go perform."
Alabama and Texas are set to square off on the gridiron this Saturday (11 a.m. CT, FOX).
