All in the family: The intertwined history of Texas and Alabama

By Laken Litman
FOX Sports College Football Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — Unfortunately for Keondre Coburn, the Texas-Alabama game is here. 

The senior defensive lineman, who will be tasked with trying to make reigning Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young uncomfortable, joked this week that he remembers when the game was first announced his freshman year in 2018.

"I was like, ‘Oh, we get a chance to play Bama? Hopefully, I’ll be gone for that,’" Coburn said Monday. "But I’m here and I’m excited for it."

Despite the elite name brand recognition for both programs, Saturday’s matchup (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) is being touted as David vs. Goliath. The Longhorns are very much an underdog at home as the Crimson Tide is a 20-point favorite. But the mood right now in Austin is optimistic and confident.

"To be honest, I love it," Coburn said of what he views as Texas being underestimated. "I love this team. We have a chance to showcase what we’ve been doing since January. How hard we’ve been working every day. We constantly come in and work every morning, and we do what we’re supposed to do." 

This is only the 10th all-time meeting between Texas and Alabama, but with so much shared history, it seems more like a family affair. 

This is also an important measuring stick game for Texas, a chance to prove it’s on the right path against a future SEC conference foe after so much suffering the past 12 years. 

Here are some of the most intriguing storylines ahead of Saturday's contest between two teams with a complicated history: 

Steve Sarkisian vs. former boss and mentor Nick Saban 

This is probably everybody’s favorite storyline. Last year was the first time that Saban ever lost to a former assistant when Jimbo Fisher's Texas A&M Aggies ripped the bandage off during the regular season. Then, in the national championship, Kirby Smart also pulled it off when Georgia beat Alabama for the title. Will Steve Sarkisian be next?

Saban gave Sarkisian a second chance after he was fired at USC in 2015, hiring him as an offensive analyst before the 2016 season. Lane Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at the time, but he parted ways with the program after the College Football Playoff semifinal, giving Sarkisian an opportunity to call plays in the national championship game.

Sarkisian was named Kiffin’s successor, but quickly left for the same job with the Atlanta Falcons. Two years later, Sarkisian was back at Alabama coaching Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith.

Sarkisian has said he wouldn’t be at Texas if it wasn’t for Saban, and earlier this week he discussed how valuable the experience was working for him at Alabama.

"I would say discipline," Sarkisian said, answering a question on the most important thing he learned from the Bama coach. "And I’m not saying disciplining our players. I’m saying self-discipline. He’s a very regimented man. He knows his routine and stays disciplined in his routine.

"And then his expectation is that his staff and players will have that same disciplined approach off the field and on. And it starts with him. He practices what he preaches."

Sarkisian said he could talk for hours about all the things he gleaned from Saban. He can also tell stories about what it’s like to be screamed at by him.

"Lane used to get it pretty good," Sarkisian said. "I don't mind saying that, he’s a friend of mine. There's a couple [times] I definitely remember. I was in the press box looking down and there was a lot going on. I got it, too. I think that shaped us.

"Part of it is, if he's yelling at you, you probably didn't reach an expectation or a standard that he was expecting of you. And if you're a guy like me, that’s what drives you. This man operates at a very high level, a very high standard. And when you can meet his expectations, man, you're doing something right. And when you don't, you’ve got to look in the mirror and say, ‘OK, how can I do it better next time so I don't get put in that situation again?’

"I loved my time with him because the way he coached and the way he looked at things and the way he thought was exactly how I did."

A 2009 national championship rematch 

The last time these programs met was in the 2009 national championship game. Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy was injured on Texas’ first drive, and Alabama went on to win, 37-21. It was Saban’s first title for the Tide.

Since then, the programs have gone in vastly different directions. Alabama became a powerhouse and won six national championships, while Texas has suffered five losing seasons and is on its fourth head coach.

Most of the players on both teams were too young to remember details from that game. Even Sarkisian said he doesn’t remember paying much attention to it. 

What would it mean, big picture, for the Longhorns' program to beat Alabama — or at least do everything it possibly can to beat Alabama? Sarkisian and his players aren’t putting too much stock into one game.

"I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is like, ‘This is gonna be the game that defines our program,’" Sarkisian said. "It might, it might not. I’m not that concerned about it. I’m more concerned about the way we play the game, you know? I've said all along that my goal is to be in Dallas on Dec. 3 [playing in the Big 12 championship]. This game has no impact on that.

"They're an awesome opponent and I want to play them really well. I want to make sure that our guys play our style of football, our brand of football, and do it the way that I know we're capable of doing it. I’m sure they're saying the same thing in their locker room because we don't impact them going to the SEC championship game."

But would a Texas win shock the world? 

"It would, probably, but it wouldn't shock nobody inside our locker room," linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said. "We work hard just like everybody else in the country."

Saban gets to see what he could have had 

There’s always that question of "What if?" when it comes to Texas and Saban. 

The Longhorns were prepared to offer Saban a contract to replace Mack Brown after the 2012 season. At the time, there were reports that Saban's wife, Terry, was seen in Austin house-hunting. But Saban turned down the job, reportedly because he didn’t want to have to answer to boosters. It was also reported that Brown, who resigned after the 2013 season, was not OK with the hire.

Since then, Texas has cycled through coaches, from Charlie Strong to Tom Herman and now Sarkisian.

Obviously, Saban stayed at Alabama and recently signed a contract extension through the 2029 season that pays him more than $90 million over the next eight years.

"This is our home," Saban said in a statement. "And we look forward to finishing our career at Alabama." 

Sark recruited Bryce Young 

Sarkisian has a special relationship with Young and his family because he recruited him.

"I’ve known Bryce since he was literally in sixth grade," Sarkisian said. "A heck of a player. He's got a natural instinct for passing the football. He can feel things happen and has a natural understanding of route combinations based on coverages, and then he’s willing to cut loose. On top of that, he’s very elusive. A former point guard in basketball. He’s got a real feel and sense for things going on around him. And he has a neat ability to maneuver in the pocket and keep his eyes downfield and make throws off platform. 

"A lot of things we talk about [Texas quarterback] Quinn [Ewers], Bryce possessed a lot of those same characteristics." 

The reality of facing Will Anderson Jr.

Of course, it’s not just Saban that Sarkisian is close to at Bama. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding is one of his good friends, and they’ll be scheming against each other. 

"It’s like going in the backyard and playing H-O-R-S-E or one-on-one or shooting pool," Sarkisian said. "Pete is a great competitor." 

Linebacker Anderson and Alabama’s front seven pose an enormous problem for Texas’ inexperienced offensive line and quarterback. The Longhorns have seven freshman offensive linemen on their roster, and this will be redshirt freshman quarterback Ewers' second college start. 

"One, they’re big, especially along the interior, and they’ve got a lot of people they can play," Sarkisian said. "A lot of the time, the run game gets pushed to the perimeter because they do a good job internally."

On the edge, Anderson and linebackers Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell have the skill set to win one-on-one. In the back, Sarkisian says, "they play very sticky in coverage" and will "disrupt the timing of your route combinations, which allows the pass rush to affect the quarterback." 

Ultimately, Sarkisian says, the Longhorns will need to have a smart plan and be creative to have any success against Alabama's defense.

Read more on Texas-Alabama:

• What we're watching in Week 2: Can Bama stop Bijan? 
• Sark looking to find QB magic once again
• Key questions ahead of Texas-Alabama
• Joel Klatt: What ‘progress’ would look like for Texas
• 5 key matchups scouts will be watching in Austin
• How to bet Alabama-Texas
• Alabama-Texas and other Week 2 games by the numbers
• Week 2 odds: Top 25 lines
• Quinn Ewers' towed car fuels laughs ahead of Alabama-Texas

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.